Resident Evil 4: In This Darkness, Love Is Born
by Albedo XL
Summary: An RE4 novelization with exact script and character emotion with an extended ending. Leon is sent to search for Ashley, but what will happen to them as they are hunted down and their hope for survival begins to fade away? LA lemon later.
1. Prologue: In This Darkness

Prologue: In This Darkness…

In the shadows of society, you'll find them. In their faces, you'll see no joy or sorrow. In the darkness, they watch. In the silence, they kill. In the blood shed, they stand alone, a force that knows no boundaries and will risk everything for the better good of the common people that don't even know the name of their unsung hero. In the shadows, you'll find them… rising from the dust…

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Waking slowly from his stupor, Leon rose from his sleep as his ancient phone resounded through his run-down apartment. Clearing his throat, he picked up the receiver. "Kennedy."

"Leon, sorry for waking you at such an ungodly hour, but we need you at the briefing facility ASAP," and with that, the line went dead as his commanding officer tried his best to sound conversational despite the urgency in his voice.

With practiced speed, Leon was there in fifteen minutes, washed and clean. Upon entry into the facility, he was given a full-length briefing on his next mission.

'NAME: Ashley Graham

AGE:20

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: light brown eyes, shoulder-length blonde hair, fair complexion, about 5'4"

OCCUPATION: College student in Boston, Mass.

LAST SEEN: Leaving her college campus with two body guards, both found decapitated in the car she was to leave in; was wearing an orange no-sleeve turtleneck, green plaid skirt, knee high brown leather boots, and a brown sweater around her shoulders.

BEEN REPORTED SEEN: A rural Amish village in Southern Spain called Pueblo, which is on land that has been owned by the Salazar family, a centuries-old castellan lineage.'

'_The President's daughter…?'_ Leon thought to himself as he was escorted to the air field to leave for Spain. _'Why the President's daughter…?' _and as he flew across the Atlantic Ocean, a nameless fear awakened in his heart, and brought back images from the past… a memory that should have never happened…_ '1998...' _Leon then sighed to force out the fear and straighten out the memories and order of events,_ 'I'll never forget it. It was the year when those grisly murders occurred in the Arklay Mountains. Soon after, the news was out to the whole world revealing that it was the fault of a secret viral experiment conducted by the international pharmaceutical enterprise, Umbrella. The virus broke out in a nearby mountain community, Raccoon City. And hit the peaceful little town with a devastating blow, crippling its very foundation. Not taking any chances, the President of the United States ordered a contingency plan - to sterilize Raccoon City. With the whole affair gone public, the United States government issued an indefinite suspension of business decree to Umbrella. Soon its stock prices crashed, and for all intents and purposes, Umbrella was finished. Six years had passed since that horrendous incident...' _ "….And here I am…" he whispered to himself, to quiet the disturbance inside his heart.

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Frightened, her tears stained her dirty cheeks as she continued to look out of her small, broken window, to look for a tangible hope to cling to. Seeing the gray sunset shrouded in heavy rainfall, masking it behind a cloud of black, her strength weakened as she collapsed to her knees, scared for her life and sanity.

Searching around the room, she fashioned a rudimentary 'bed' with the unused straw and hay on the floor and discarded flour sacks. Then she tore apart the barrels in the room with an iron bar she found, and made an improvisational fence between her and the door to her cell. And taking the metal braces from the barrels, she kept them close as a last resort hand-held weapon, should they come back.

Backed up into her 'secure' little corner of the room, she waited for something, anything, to happen. Deprived of sleep for thirty-six hours now, her heavy-lidded eyes succumbed to the darkness around her as the last vestiges of her mind and the black sunset slipped away…


	2. Chapter 1: I Will Fight

Chapter 1: I Will Fight

Upon landing in Spain, Leon was immediately carried off by his foreign escorts; a couple of anti-American Policia officers. As they drove, they listened to an up-beat, female Spanish pop radio station. Finally Leon tuned out the pleasant, but distracting music and turned to his own thoughts.

'_I received special training via a secret organization working under the direct control of the President. I was to assume the responsibility of protecting the new President's family.' _

Then the Policia officer in the driver's seat sarcastically laughed to himself as he grumbled, "Why am I the one who always gets the short end of the stick?" as his buddy in the passenger seat chimed in, "Yo, who are you really? Come on and tell us. You are a long way from home, cowboy. You have my sympathies."

Leon hated the fake enthusiasm. "Guess that's a local's way of breaking the ice. Anyway, you know what this is all about. My assignment is to search for the President's missing daughter."

And at that, the officer in the driver's seat almost burst out, "What, all by yourself?" as he hardly could stop himself from laughing out loud.

"I'm sure you boys didn't just tag along so we could sing Kumbiyah together at some Boy Scout bonfire," Leon muttered as he tried to be an asshole back. "Then again, maybe you did."

The one in the passenger seat finally lost his cool, "Oh, you crazy American. It's a direct order from the chief himself. I tell you it's no picnic," then he shook his head to add to the gesture.

Now trying to be nice for once to them, he placed a hand on their shoulders and smiled gently, "I'm counting on you guys," at which was responded as a unanimous shrug from both of them.

Later down the road, the officer in the passenger seat had to take piss, allowing Leon some more time to think before he technically got started on his mission. _'It was right before I was to take on my duties of protecting the President's daughter when she was abducted. That's the ultimate reason I'm in this lonely and rural part of Europe. According to our intelligence, there's reliable information of a sighting of a girl that looks very similar to the President's daughter. Apparently she's being withheld by some unidentified group of people. Who would have thought my first job would be a rescue mission?'_

As Leon was lost in thought, the officer's skin began to feel like ice as he unzipped his pants. "Ah, it's freezing… So cold all of a sudden…" then something in the surrounding forest gained his attention. But a few seconds later, he saw a flock of ravens take to the sky. "Ah, must be my imagination," and once in the car again, and apologized briefly, "Sorry it took so long."

After another hour, they finally came to the bridge which crossed over into the outskirts of Pueblo.

"Just up ahead is the village."

At the obvious, yet kind instruction, Leon exited the car. "Thanks. I'll go and have a look around."

Then the driver leaned over towards the passenger window, saying, "We'll stay and watch the car. Don't want to get any parking tickets."

Leon arched an eye brow and replied with a joking tone, "Right...parking tickets," _'…assholes… They just want to get out of helping me. Damn Spaniards…'_

Completely ignoring his comment, the passenger waved him off with a mocking tone, "Good luck…"

As Leon walked away, he muttered to himself, "Geez, who are these guys?"

Which one of the officers had heard. "Did you say something?"

Interrupting the precursor to a fight, Leon's communicator beeped rapidly, getting his attention. Upon unclipping it from his belt, the incoming video feed turned on, showing him a moving picture of a woman in a plain grey suit with glasses and her hair back.

"Leon, I hope you can hear me. I'm Ingrid Hunningan. I'll be your support on this mission," the communicator said as the mouth of the woman moved.

Sure that the outgoing audio and video line were connected properly, Leon replied, "Loud and clear. Somehow I thought you'd be a little older. So the subject's name's Ashley Graham, right?"

"That's right. She's the daughter of the President. So try and behave yourself, okay?" She was obviously thinking he was going to crush on her because she had such much power on her side.

At which, Leon took offense to the comment and scoffed, "Whoever this group is, they sure picked the wrong girl to kidnap."

"I'll try to find more information on them from my end as well.

"Good. Talk to you later. Leon out," and once he turned off the incoming video and audio feed, he grumbled, "She thinks I'm a fucking perv… What a bitch…" Then he took out the only photo of his subject he was given and gently wiped off the lint from his jacket pocket with his thumb. _'Ashley…' _ he thought as he stared at the picture for the millionth time since receiving it, _'She's quite beautiful, really, even if she's young for my taste…' _then he shook his head of such thoughts, _'Who am I kidding? I'd be fired faster than I could say, "How could I not like her?" That is… if I even find her…'_ and with one last sigh, he dropped that line of thought.

Looking back at the old Policia car, he rolled his eyes when he saw the driver sneer at him as he strolled away.

Nothing could be heard riding on the wind. No movement disturbed the fragile underbrush. The morning was grey, oppressive, carrying an unforgiving down pour that was waiting to happen.

When he was out-of-sight of the Policia car, he quietly and slowly drew his handgun from its holster on his hip, feeling his instincts flare up in warning. _'Where is everyone…?'_

Then he shook his head in self-reprimandation. _'This is ridiculous… it's 6 am here. Who the hell would be up at this hour anyway?' _But the air of uneasiness he felt didn't lift as he approached a rather run-down looking house. He holstered his gun as he walked up slowly onto the front porch of the house, half-afraid the rotten boards underneath him would give way under his weight, leaving him to deal with an upset landowner.

Gently, he rapped his knuckles on the door, trying to be quiet so as not to wake anyone if they weren't already. But surprisingly, he did hear a faint sound of footsteps and the crackle of a fireplace. Yet the footsteps never moved away from the fire to greet Leon.

'_That's odd….' _Leon remarked in his thoughts as he took the initiative to try opening the front door himself, at which, he was again surprised by the lack of concern of safety and security since the door was unlocked. He slid into the house soundlessly, careful to avoid any floor boards that seemed uneasy.

The further he went into the house, the more cautious he was, ready for shit to hit the fan at any second.

Quickly rounding the corner, Leon studied the living room/ dining room combination to find a local man that was bent over the fire, gingerly tending to the embers within. _'Huh? I suppose he just couldn't hear the door if he's that close to the fire…'_

Comfortable again with the circumstances, he slowly walked up next to the man with as kind and friendly a manner as possible. "Uh, excuse me. Sir?" then Leon waited for him to turn around completely to finish speaking, although the man had quite a… dangerous... visage. "I was wondering if you might recognize the girl in this photograph?"

And recoiling into anger, he began to shout in Leon's face, "Qué carajo haces aquí? Lárgate, cabrón! (What the hell are you doing here? Get out of here!)"

Leon immediately took the hint and quickly closed the conversation, "Sorry to have bothered you." But as he was pocketing the photograph, though, the alarming sound of something slicing through the air made him instantly jump to the side, narrowly avoiding a rusty hatchet that was aimed for his head.

The adrenaline in his veins jumped to massive levels as he stood back up, holding his handgun towards the crazed man, a man that obviously didn't care for his own safety.

"Freeze!" Leon shouted as the man came closer. When it was clear that the man didn't get the warning, Leon then roared, "I said freeze!" And yet nothing stopped him from lifting the ax over his head in preparation to butcher Leon.

But before the ax could even fall upon him, Leon planted the gun into the man's stomach before squeezing off three consecutive rounds, throwing the man backwards onto the floor. _'Son of a bitch!' _Leon then thought as the man got back up without reacting to his mortal wound. Finally at the threshold of his patience, Leon leveled the barrel of his gun at the man's temples and the shot he fired tore through skull, muscle, and neural tissue.

'_Holy shit! He attacked me! What the fuck was wrong with him?'_

Sudden sounds of an old truck thundering towards the bridge immediately drew Leon to the window, peeking through the broken blinds, growing more and more alarmed until he heard the inevitable crash, then the fall of both vehicles, the truck and the unfortunate Policia car, into the gorge. "Shit!"

Then as if everything was planned to hit him all at once, Hunnigan called in. "Is everything okay?"

Frustrated with his current situation, Leon quickly explained, "There was a hostile local. I had no choice but to neutralize him. There are still others surrounding the area."

Sensing his seriousness and urgency, she became cold and relayed orders, just like military personnel must. "Get out of there and head toward the village. Take whatever measures necessary to save the subject."

"Understood." Then as Leon turned off the audio and visual on the communicator, shouts of bloodlust came from outside the house, rousing him into action. When he tried to exit through the front door, he quickly realized that they barred him in, hoping to corner him. Resolving to find better cover within the house, he ran through the living room and tried to go in the passage next to the stairs, but it quickly dead-ended at a pile of skulls and rotting flesh on a table. The putrid scent made him pray that Ashley was alive and safe.

Heading up the stairs, he found a box of handgun bullets on the bedside table. _'What the fuck is wrong with this God-forsaken place?' _Leon then took careful aim out of the bedroom window for a rabid villager's head, and after a shot to the forehead, the other men unbarred the door and crowded into the house to get him. _'Perfect…'_ Leon thought as he jumped quite gracefully from the second story window, landing just in front of the porch, ready to swiftly decimate the violent villagers.

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After eliminating the insane townspeople, he came back to the gorge to see… the Policia car that was hopelessly totaled and the blood of the officers smeared on the car and rock wall edges.

"Oh, no..." Leon whispered to himself as he saw the thick blood pool on the river rocks and on the twisted metal of the car and truck. _'…But where are the bodies…?'_ No one was in the wrecked car or among the rocky shores of the river. _'They must have gone down stream…' _and with one last sigh, he finally began to head toward Pueblo, the blood-soaked village of hell.

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Twelve hours later, she slowly came to, arching her back to stretch since she slept all night sitting up. Looking outside of her pitiful excuse for a window, she gazed upon the grey, oppressive morning, wrenching tears from her exhausted eyes. She hadn't eaten in fifty-six hours now, and drinking what she could during her transportation here, wherever 'here' was.

She felt hollow from the inside as her hunger began to eat away at her own body, in essence, destroying herself involuntarily. Craving anything that was possibly edible, she tore open one of the flour bags in her makeshift bed and brought up a hand-full of expired flour to her mouth, and hastily tried to swallow it all down, but ended up inhaling the flour and coughing till she could work up enough saliva to wash it down. Pain-induced tears in her eyes now, her frustration mounted until she struck the floor with her fists, rupturing the skin and causing her knuckles to bleed.

In her growing anger and fear, she began to smash the pottery in the room, then picked up the sharpest piece she found, and with a surge of emotion, she drove it into her thigh, cutting through flesh and pouring out blood, hoping her pain would end soon.


	3. Chapter 2: I Will Search

Chapter 2: I Will Search

After mercilessly fighting his way to the gates of Pueblo, Hunnigan called in before he got any closer to the town.

"Leon. How ya holding up?" she said, speaking with a very unusual slur.

He scoffed as he replied, "Bad question, Hunningan."

"Sorry to hear that..." she said without emotion, making Leon feel more apprehensive. "I'm sending you a Playing Manual. Hope you find it useful."

"I'll take a look at it. Thanks." And closed the conversation, then thought, _'A Playing Manual? That's a messed name right name right there…' _and skimming the virtual file on his communicator only confirmed his guess.

Leon then put away his communicator and got out his voice-key binoculars to scan for good cover if the villagers became violent, since all of the previous ones were.

"Zoom in…" Leon whispered, and the binoculars responded smoothly to his voice. Then he saw the people of the village acting… perfectly normal; tilling little gardens, chasing their own chickens into coops, tending cattle, forking hay into feeding troughs…. But something unnerved him; the fact that there were no children to be seen. _'Could the skulls from the first house I went into…'_ Then the image of the decaying craniums in a heap appeared in his mind... _'Could those have been children?! Are they cannibals?!'_

The something in the central fire caught his eye… the body of a Policia officer, one of Leon's escorts. _'Oh, no… it was just too good to leave them in the watery grave…' _he thought as he saw that the body was suspended over the fire by a large hook impaled him from behind in between the shoulder blades and came out through his chest where the heart should have been.

"Son of a bitches…" Leon growled at their inhumanity, and only a split-second later, he heard shouts from the villager men in Spanish as they pointed at him charged, armed with hatchets, machetes, and pitchforks. "Oh fuck!" Leon yelled as he dodged his way past them, heading towards the bonfire, then he dove into a two story house that seemed well protected enough to hunker down in. "Damn it!" he cursed again as the people began to head towards the house. "Who are these people?" And after pushing a book case in front of the door, he asked himself out loud, "What are they planning?" then he barricaded the kitchen window as well. Once finished down stairs, he dashed upstairs… only to be cornered by again as ladders smashed through the bedroom window pane. "Shit!" he now roared as he pried a shotgun from a wall-mounted display case, pumped it, and shot the hag that was trying to crawl into the upstairs bedroom, throwing her backwards from the ladder to land in the village's pyre.

Then Leon heard the frightening sound of a chainsaw tearing its way through the front door. "Great. A chainsaw." And he rushed down stairs to greet the chainsaw psycho sadist with an up-close shotgun shell to the head.

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The resounding ring of a church bell was heard through out the village, reaching the ears of Leon and the remaining villagers. Then to his surprise, they all turned towards the source of the sound, completely ignoring him as they calmly dropped their makeshift weapons and went inside a building that looked like a chapel, but a chapel with a very strange design on the front door.

Not taking any chances, Leon hid as the villagers went away, noting that the church from where the bell rang was about a half mile away, and yet the villagers went into the small chapel only fifteen meters from the house he had made his standoff.

As the door to the church shut, he came out of hiding and stood facing the mysterious building, and in disbelief at this freakish turn of events, he snidely grumbled to the deserted town square, "Where's everyone going? Bingo?" at which he sarcastically laughed at.

But soon he became serious again, and decided to report back to Hunnigan the nature of his current circumstances. Flipping on the audio and visual connection, the communicator instantly connected to Hunnigan. "Hunnigan, I have some bad news," and he paused to see her troubled face. "I've confirmed the body of an officer. Something's happened to the people here."

Shaking off the pain of hearing of an officer's death, she responded quickly, "Leon, you need to get out of there. Look for a tower. Follow the trail near it." And she sent a digital bird's-eye-view of the area he was in with the tower and path highlighted.

Leon located the trail easily, and replied back to her, "Got it.," as he signed off.

Then before he left the village, he thought, _'Damn…this is going to be one hell of a rescue mission…, _and he moved on, now desperate to find the girl that may no longer be alive…

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As she licked up the blood from her self-inflicted wound to satisfy her thirst, she heard very distant sounds of gunfire. Unsure of the situation, she armed herself with the iron braces she had and prepared for the worst.

Then the church bell of the church she was in rang, causing enormous tremors to shake her so much that her iron weapons fell out of her hands, and her hearing was shot. Scared of mob she knew would start coming, she picked up her makeshift weapons again, and because of her human survival instincts, she stood concrete and ready for them to come.


	4. Chapter 3: I Will Rise

Chapter 3: I Will Rise

After fighting past the farm area of the village, Leon came to a steep, sloping trail to what he could see as being a small private estate.

As he walked down the rocky steps of the trail, the sound of stone scraping against stone came from above. And as he spun around to see what it was, two men pushed a boulder off the cliff above him, threatening to crush his body like twig.

Leon's legs moved faster than his mind could register the danger, so the boulder landed where he had been a split-second ago, but gravity forced the large stone to roll down the slope, heading towards Leon.

Once he felt like his energy reserves were almost gone, he dove into the underbrush, narrowly escaping a painful death by being crushed. _'Or stoned…,' _he thought sadistically.

The boulder soon smashed into a tunnel entrance, the force of the impact breaking it in pieces.

Seeing the tunnel, Leon dashed into it to finally catch his breath and seek refuge for a little while. He quickly realized that bats inhabited the small tunnel, but that they flew from him. _'At least they don't look like vampire bats…,' _adding more to his book of dark humor.

Once he recovered his breath, Leon carefully surveyed the area beyond the tunnel. The villager men had set up bear traps and TNT tripwires, while others had a stick of dynamite in one hand and a lighter in their other hand.

Grinning like a feral animal, Leon then thought, _'Heh… let's see how well organized they really are…' _as he silently equipped his rifle and peered through his laser sight, spotting a perfect target to send them into confusion; a man standing only a few meters from behind a tripwire. Sniping him in the chest, the villager immediately spotted Leon, running full speed towards him… but also into the tripwire, which led to his ultimate downfall. _'What a moron…'_

The unexpected gunshot and explosion left them all dazed as to what happened, which gave Leon enough time to make two headshots to two men, both of which had dynamite lit in their hands as they died, killing another in the resulting explosions.

Leon then dashed from his cover of the tunnel to the smaller house where two last men were waiting for him, careful to avoid bear traps on the way. And carefully turning the corner at the back of the little house, he tossed an incendiary grenade in the back window before one unfortunate man could clamor out in time, roasting him alive. Jumping over the broken window sill, he quickly tossed another grenade into the far room with the door boarded over to hear the screams of the last man die in a blanket of fire.

Sure that everyone had been taken care of, he made his way cautiously to the main house, ready to fight in case their rally point was inside. Opening the door and silently stepping in, everything was quiet, except for a faint sound of staccato thumps in another room. Walking into a short hallway, he came frighteningly close to triggering a TNT tripwire, which could have easily been the end of him. Pissed, he backed away, drew his handgun, and fired at one of the TNT sticks, blowing the entire contraption to hell with anyone going with it.

But to his surprise, there was no reaction to the explosion, except for the same thumps, which seemed to get only louder the further into the house he went. _'Were they trying to hide something? Was the tripwire there to kill an intruder before they could find it?'_

Then he came into an 'L' shaped room, and in the very back corner of the room, there was a large wardrobe. But it was moving; something was obviously in it. Deciding to be safe than sorry, Leon steadied himself against one of the wardrobe doors with his handgun ready, and on the count of three, he threw open the opposite door to see a tied up and gagged man tumble out of the wardrobe and onto the floor.

Seeing that he didn't seem as crazy as everyone else, Leon ripped the duct tape that was over the captive's mouth, which resulted in the man hissing in slight pain. "A little rough, don't you think?" Then Leon grabbed him and flipped him on his stomach so he could work on the tight ropes that bound the poor man. As the man tried to look back at Leon, he said almost curiously, "You're... not like them?"

Almost done cutting off the restraints, Leon responded gruffly as he was still working, "No. You?" Then the man sat up and dusted himself off, allowing Leon to see him entirely; he was about as tall as him, almost same age too, Hispanic blood, and had the look of a man who tried hard to win over women, guessing from his slick, shoulder length hair, cleanly shaved chin, and elegant clothing that enhanced his romantic prowess.

Rubbing his raw wrists, he gathered himself up as he prepared to ask for something seemingly monumental. "Okay. I have only one, very important question," then he sighed, hoping he wasn't going to be dejected, "You got a smoke?"

"Got gum," Leon said in response to the stupid question, thinking about how much he loathed the stench of cigarette smoke.

Then suddenly, a loud crash came from behind them, destroying the semi-peaceful moment they had. Two armed villager men climbed over the wreckage they made, making way for a behemoth of a man, obviously the leader of the insane village. He was almost seven feet tall from the looks of him, his body draped with a large trench coat, but the most terrifying thing about him was his one red eye paired with a normal one. Leon froze as he saw the gleam of the red false eye fix onto him, but he stood his ground, should his captive friend notice and become afraid.

But surprisingly, the captive only looked mildly upset, grumbling to Leon, but low enough so the leader and his escorts couldn't hear, "Perfect. The big cheese."

Stunned by the captive's seemingly aloof tone, Leon whispered back fiercely, "What?", then he resolved to try and take down the leader himself, sensing the captive would be of no help. Throwing his weight into charging at the leader, Leon paused only briefly to catch his footing before launching a bone-crushing back kick into leader's body… which was cut short as the leader caught Leon's foot, then threw him by his foot into the air, flipping him head over feet into the wardrobe and the captive, knocking them both out on impact.

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Waking up with a start as his heart pounded and his adrenaline jumped, Leon came to, wide-eyed and shocked about his dream. Feeling a weight on the other side of his back, he tried to shake it off, only to realize he was tied with his hands behind his back to the captive he failed to rescue. Noting that the captive felt like a dead weight, Leon shook the bonds some more, saying gently, but seriously, "Hey… Hey… Wake up."

Slowly shaking himself of his stupor, the captive groaned as he straightened his back and opened his eyes, sighing painfully, "Ai yi yi. Crawl out of one hole, and into another."

Concerned with his comment Leon asked authoritatively, "You want to tell me what's going on here?"

Trying to downplay Leon's seriousness, the captive tried to lighten the mood. "Americano, si? Now what brings a bloke like you to this part of the world?" At which, Leon cruelly twisted their chains, threatening to break through the captive's skin. Sharply inhaling to ease the pain, the captive managed to get out, "Easy, whoever you are."

Releasing the twist in their bonds, Leon tried to act civilized once again, "My name's Leon, I came here looking for this girl," and gently reaching his hand into his back pocket, he took out the only picture he had of her, and held it of to his side to the captive could see it. "Have you seen her?" _'Please say yes…._'

Amused with Leon's question, the captive joked around again with him, "What, are you supposed to be a cop or something? Nah, you don't look the type."

Stopping to think about his question, Leon stared into the far wall he was facing, debating what kind of answer he could give without giving away his past. "Maybe."

"Okay, Let me guess. She's the President's daughter?" the captive then said in a sly tone.

At which, Leon's eyes shot wide open, afraid of how he came to know that. Controlling his overwhelmed emotions, he replied back sternly, "That's too good for a guess. Want to start explaining?"

"Psychic powers," and once Leon started to turn his head in impatience, the captive stopped messing with him. "Nah, just kidding with you, amigo. I overheard one of the villagers talking something about the President's daughter in the church."

'_Eh… sounds reasonable…_' Leon thought, then asked, "And who might you be?"

And feeling the captive straighten up against his back, Leon guessed he was probably a proud man, "Me llamo Luis Sera. I used to be a cop in Madrid. Now I'm just a good-for-nothing guy, who happens to be quite the ladies' man."

Curious, Leon asked another question, "Why'd you quit?"

Snickering lightly, Luis responded cynically, "Policia... you put your life on the line, no one really appreciates you enough for it. Being a hero isn't what it's cracked up to be anymore…," finishing his tirade with a grunt.

Sensing he was someone that could be trusted, Leon loosened up. "Used to be cop myself. Only for a day though…" and he stared off into the far wall as the memories began to surface.

"I thought I was bad," Luis replied with as much sympathy as he could give.

Delving back into his repressed memories, Leon continued, "Somehow I managed to get myself involved with the incident in Raccoon City, on my first day in the force," feeling ashamed of his horrific luck.

With peaked interest, Luis remarked in surprise. "That is the incident with the viral outbreak right? I think I might have seen a sample of the virus in the lab at my depar-…" but he was cutoff as a male villager with blood pouring from an ominous wound from his temples barged into the room, dragging an axe by his side, muttering something in Spanish as he staggered towards Leon and Luis.

Squirming unsuccessfully away from the on-coming villager, Luis then screamed, "Do something, cop!"

"After you!" Leon frustratedly replied, trying to answer and think at the same time. Yet the only idea he had was insanely risky, even though all other options meant death. Hoping Luis also had the same thing in mind, as the ax was falling between their tied bodies, Leon then shouted, "Now!" which thankfully Luis responded to perfectly, as they both, on cue, stretched out the exposed chains of their bonds completely, allowing the ax to cut through the chains rather than them.

While the villager was preoccupied with freeing his ax from the floorboards, Luis and Leon took advantage of the time they had to roll away from the blade of the ax and stand. Once the ax was free, though, the villager then charged at Leon, and as he got closer, he swung the ax, missing Leon as he ducked underneath the blade, and landed in the floorboards again, and since Leon was on his back and with his legs planted in the villager's chest, he flung the man into the far wall, and as the man slid downwards towards the ground, his neck snapped, rendering the man a corpse.

But right after the threat had passed, Luis ran away, leaving Leon behind in the empty room. With no other leads to find his way, he decided to contact Hunnigan. "It's Leon. Sorry I couldn't get in touch sooner but I was a bit tied up."

She looked quite nervous on the video feed. "You're okay, right?"

"I'm fine. There was a male civilian held captive. According to him, Ashley's in a church somewhere."

"What happened to him?" she asked with curiosity.

Then Leon decided to leave out the fact that Luis was actually a cowardly chicken-shit. "He managed to escape."

Ignoring his reply, she moved on, "Do you have a fix on the location of that church?"

"No, but apparently, there's a secret passage in the village that leads there. I'm heading back to the village," and after he received some more virtual maps with his ultimate destination highlighted, he steeled himself and walked on with determination, uncertain of what laid ahead of him…

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Although she knew the bell was heard for miles around, no one came. For several more hours, she still tried to eat the flour from her 'pillows', finally giving up as she coughed violently again. Watching the sky through her window turn from a hazy morning to an unsettling afternoon, she began to pace in her cell in a frenzy, talking to herself more and more.

Realizing that her erratic behavior was in sync with insanity, she began mercilessly beating her head against the wall, trying desperately to forget everything. After one particularly solid blow, her brain, inside her skull, hit the cranium walls so hard, she collapsed, as blood continued to trickle down her pale face.


	5. Chapter 4: I Will Try

Chapter 4: I Will Try

Walking cautiously out of the room he and Luis found themselves in, Leon was sliding along the hallway walls… when he suddenly saw a strange hooded man with seemingly glowing yellow eyes in the window, staring at him. Leon froze, uncertain of what the man wanted, although he didn't seem to be there to kill him.

"Over here, stranger," the cloaked man softly called to Leon in a raspy, dark voice in very good English. Deciding for sure he wasn't an enemy, Leon curiously followed him, but once he got outside, he saw that he was in an entirely different place; a valley transformed into an aerial base, hanging perilously by the cliff edges. Feeling an overwhelming sense of nausea by the idea of suddenly falling into the abyss below, Leon then went behind the house where he saw the man go, and turning the corner, the man was standing there with a strange torch with blue flames. "Got something that might interest ya…," the man said in his raspy, low voice, then proceeded to pull back the edge of his trench coat, surprising Leon with the vast amount of firearms, ammunition, grenades, scopes, maps, anything he could ever need on this mission.

Quickly accepting the merchants' offer, Leon took out a leather bag where he kept the coins he had found along the way and counted the pesetas he had collected. Buying an upgrade for his handgun, a new rifle, and selling the old rifle, Leon left the merchant and continued on his way past the valley fortress.

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After finding his way through an underground warehouse, Leon finally surfaced at the well, close by an unoccupied house that happened to only be a few hundred yards away from Pueblo's town gates. Creeping up behind the unforgiving house, Leon stayed silent, hoping to avoid any unnecessary encounters while infiltrating the building. Leon climbed up the back stairs and dead ended at a door that held a crystal-clear, glass orb at eye level in itself. The orb was able to move in any direction, but was clearly forged into the door to prevent theft.

'_Hmm… Looking at these images when I turn it, it must form a symbol to unlock the door. …That insignia on the church! That must be it!'_ Leon thought curiously as he turned the orb until he saw facing him the exact same symbol he had seen before, the symbol that somehow instilled a deep sense of fear.

Leon heard the resultant clicks of the locking mechanism retracting and permitting entrance. He quietly opened the door and the next room was a well-used bedroom, clean, unlike the villagers' homes, since most of them had food rotting on their tables, ominous blood stains on beds and other furniture, and a foul stench of death that permeated everything.

Done going through the bedroom, Leon then exited the door opposite the one he entered by, and as he stood in silence in the hallway, he heard a soft sound behind him, and all he saw was a black figure before the village chief violently gripped Leon's throat as he lifted him into the air.

Leon choked, desperately gasping for air, clawing at the village chief's hands in a futile attempt, kicking, his blood crying out for air. As he began to feel and see darkness clouding his vision and mind, his eyes involuntarily flashed blood red before he slipped into unconsciousness, causing the village chief to unexpectedly let him go, at which, Leon limply fell from his hands onto the floor, struggling to breathe and stay awake.

Then the chief looked at Leon menacingly with both his real eye and fake red one, growling in accented English, "Hmmmm. You carry the same blood as us, it seems. Nevertheless, you're an outsider. Just remember, if you become unpleasant to our eyes, you'll face severe consequences." And with that, the leader turned and left through the door Leon had come from, leaving Leon alone in the hallway with a deadly puzzle.

Standing up weakly, Leon whispered to himself, "What? …Same blood?"

Hearing his communicator ringing, Leon unclipped it from his belt and turned on the audio and video feed to find Hunnigan looking at him expectantly. "Leon. I've been able to get some new info that might help you."

'_Finally… hopefully, the first good news I've heard all day…' _"Fill me in."

Hunnigan cleared her throat before she continued, "Apparently, there's a religious cult group involved. They're called the Los Illuminados."

"Los Illuminados?" then Leon looked at her quizzically through the visual. "That's a mouthful. Anyway, I've had an unexpected run-in with the big cheese of this village…" and shuddered when he thought about it .

Hunnigan became nervous, "But you're okay, right?"

Sighing thankfully, Leon began to explain, "Yeah... But he could have killed me, but he let me live..." then he decided to tell her what was weighing on his mind, "And he mentioned something about me carrying the same blood as them. Whatever that means."

"'Carrying the same blood...' Hmm... Interesting..." Hunnigan wondered to herself as she made a note to herself to find out more.

Leon then continued the conversation, preferring not to think of the possibilities and allow her to do it for him, "Anyway, there are more important things than solving riddles right now."

"You're right. Hurry and find that church, Leon." And with that, she sent another series of maps with his location highlighted again, and cut off the transmission, letting Leon go to work, fighting his way through Pueblo again and into the tower everyone went into on his first visit, hoping he was on the right track.

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Exiting the tunnel, Leon found himself near a graveyard, which thankfully, the suspected church was right behind. Rushing through the cemetery, smashing in the faces of the keepers with the butt of his handgun, he quickly stopped at the church doorway, as a sickening realization that there was no way he could get in. Frantic, Leon called Hunnigan for support. "Hunnigan, it's Leon. The door's locked. I can't get in!"

Hunnigan responded in a sarcastic sneer, "Didn't they teach you how to pick locks at the academy?"

'_Sadly, I'm not in the mood for jokes…' _"There's some sort of indentation like something might fit inside."

"Well, there's no use standing around. Leon, you have to find some way or something to get inside." And she closed link, leaving Leon screaming in his mind, _'No shit, Sherlock!!!' _and once sure she was off the line, he shouted, "God damn it all!!!"

Impatient and frustrated, Leon ran toward the cliff edge bridges, angrily shoving the offensive villagers out of his way, throwing them into the impaling rocks and sea foam below as he desperately ran in search for something that would allow him to save the President's daughter, Ashley…

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Waking from her pain-induced sleep, she weakly sat up, and brushed away the dried blood from her face, emotionless the entire time. She felt dead inside. There was nothing left for her to hold on to for life. The sea of despair she was in was beginning to take its lethal toll on her… then she heard… a voice. A male voice. Coming from outside.

"God damn it all!!!"

Her eyes shot open when she heard that voice. It wasn't the cruel voice of her captors or of the speech-impaired villagers, but a clearly English voice, a man.

In her new state of shock, she wasn't able to even look through window or call back to him. It was just the fact that someone was alive, that someone would save her, and that hope saved her from herself.


	6. Chapter 5: I Will Survive

Chapter 5: I Will Survive

Coming out of the swamp, Leon stumbled upon the rocky shore of a lake, where the trail branched in two directions; right or straight ahead. Sensing a view a the lake would be helpful, Leon went up the straight path.

As he reached the cliff edge, he felt nervous of the scene that was about to unravel upon the lake. "What's that?", he murmured uneasily as he crouched down for a better view. He brought up his binoculars to his face and whispered, "Zoom...", sending his focus down to the auspicious boat that floated in the middle of the lake.

He saw two villager men sitting, hoisting something up to dump in the lake… then Leon saw what it was; the corpse of the other Policia officer that escorted him there. _'Why..?!_'

And with that last glimpse, the villagers finally managed to toss him overboard, leaving the body floating alone, face down in the water. "Shit!" Leon cursed out loud as he saw the heartless men speed away on the watercraft.

But as his eyes were trained on the boat leaving, he was caught off guard as the ground shook, and a split-second later, a titan-sized creature devoured the corpse in the water, and quickly dived back under before Leon could see it completely.

"What… the fuck… was THAT?!", Leon stuttered as he tried to reason out that it was all in his head, which failed. Then Leon stood at the dock, unsure whether he would survive or not. But remembering his mission, Leon faithfully climbed into the motor boat, praying for their safety and survival…

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Shaken and weak from his slim victory over the monster of the lake, Leon clumsily tumbled out of the boat, and walked with difficulty to a nearby cabin. Suddenly, a sharp pain dug into his ribs as something struggled within, causing him to cough up blood. The pain grew more powerful with every step and spread throughout his body, sending his muscles into convulsions as he fought for every inch. Beating down the door to the cabin, Leon finally succumbed to the pain, feeling a slight sense of falling as his entire world turned into darkness…

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Waking from his violent and disturbing dream, Leon came to inside the cabin he collapsed in, finding the door still open, letting the torrential rain and overwhelming darkness of night inside.

The sudden beeping of his communicator was a welcome distraction, as he began to feel an indescribable loss in his heart.

"Leon, it's been 6 hours since our last transmission. I was starting to get worried," Hunnigan said with relief in her voice.

Leon finally found his voice, and sarcasm, again, "Don't you mean lonely? Anyway, I started to feel dizzy. And then I guess I must have lost consciousness." And he spoke the last bit with a hint of uncertainty as he tried to figure out what happened to him hours before.

"Lost consciousness? Maybe it has some connection to what the village chief was talking about...?"

"Can't say. But I'm all right now. I'm gonna continue my mission." And with that, he ran out of the cabin to find a pack of mutated wolves, with tentacles and fangs coming from their backs, staring voraciously at him. _'Never gets any easier, does it…?'_

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Leon gingerly plucked the gleaming insignia from the wall inside the waterfall, and with silent triumph, he contacted Hunnigan, speaking in a dark, yet proud voice. "I've obtained an object that resembles the cult group's insignia."

And Hunnigan was visibly pleased, "Wonderful, Leon. Head back to the church. Ashley's safety is our immediate priority." And she cut their connection, leaving him to his mission.

'_Ashley…So close… yet so far…'_ Leon sighed as he thought to himself, praying that he would find her before it was too late, and leaving him silent, daring not to think of the consequences.

Arriving back in the quarry as he hurried back to the church, Leon found himself trapped inside the rudimentary walls after the gates shut securely, and through a huge pair of doors, crazed villager men ran out, but holding two long ropes instead of makeshift weapons, attempting to drag something from the dark recesses from the cliff wall.

Then it came out in a frightening rage, brutally murdered all the villagers, and made a bone-crushing dash for Leon, but thankfully, Leon cart-wheeled off to side, barely dodging the enraged monster's shoulder. _'What the fuck is that?! …What is going on?'_ And spinning around with his handgun out, Leon began his own offense, barraging it with massive doses of bullets, all the while frustratedly thinking to himself, _'Why all this… for the President's Daughter?'_

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Glaring at the fresh corpse of the giant, Leon felt something within begin to go wild, driving him into a feral state, as he raced back to the church with animalistic rage, slashing the throats of the mutated wolves that guarded the front doors. Jamming the insignia into door, he bust open the door with a solid kick, breaking a small pew behind a door as he barged in with a loud, resounding crash.

Quickly scanning the central walkway of the church, he spotted a 2nd floor, and a ladder a second later. Hastily climbing the ladder, Leon rushed to the other side of the second story to find it hopelessly gated from a suspicious door with many arcane locks holding it in place.

Backing away from the gates, Leon then saw the chandelier, and across from it, another section of the second story with an electrical panel. Leon launched himself as far as he could, landing on the chandelier, and as it swung from ledge to ledge, he jumped off at the previously inaccessible balcony.

Seeing that the cell door was also barred from that side as well, Leon began to tinker with the electrical panel that controlled projections of light. Once the projections were able to form a complete image of the cult's insignia, bars rose up, allowing entry into the cell.

Leon's heartbeat pounded in his chest as he nervously and silently crept to the door of the cell, quietly undoing the locks and bolts. Then, with all the contraptions undone, Leon gently grasped the door handle, anxious of what was within – dead, or alive?

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She patiently waited in her corner of the room for the man she heard before as she watched the hours go by and fade away into night. Growing more and more afraid of the possibility that he might never come back, she tried to think of other things, but failed, drowning her soul in sorrow.

The wolves outside growled, which alerted her to an intruder. Then silence. And suddenly, there was a huge crash downstairs that frightened her as she heard the sickening sound of wood splitting. She carefully kept listening as she barricaded herself once again, hearing the shaking of bars outside her door, the delicate whispers from the chandelier, and the switches of lights.

Another sudden noise of the raising of the bars, she grasped a chunk of wood, and as she listened to the soft sound of the locks retracting, her heart became weak, fearful of what was coming – them, or him?


	7. Chapter 6: I Will Protect

Chapter 6: I Will Protect

Slowly opening the door, Leon had barely peered inside before a piece of wood flew past his head. Quickly shifting his sight, he saw a blur of movement as Ashley ran into the corner, turned, fell to the ground in desperation, and in terror, screamed weakly, "Don't come!" And with the last reserves of her energy, she lobbed another chunk of wood at Leon, who easily deflected the projectile.

Leon slowly leaned towards her, trying his best to be calm, and gently spoke to her in thankfulness that she was alive, "Hey, take it easy…"

She shied away from his outstretched arm, backing up into a barrel, still pleading, "No! Get away!"

Reassuringly, Leon knelt down to her and looked softly into her eyes to signify peace, "Calm down. Everything's going to be just fine. My name's Leon. I'm under the President's order to rescue you."

"What? My father?" she finally queried in hope, her eyes lightening as she smiled gracefully.

Leon smiled back, glad he finally got her to understand who he was and why he was there. "That's right, and I have to get you out of here. Come with me." And stretching his hand out again to her, she grasped it gently as he pulled her to her feet, slightly feeling the weakness in her body as she leaned on him for support. Flipping on his communicator, Leon called Hunnigan, who was desperately waiting for good news. "It's Leon. I've succeeded in extricating my subject," and he sighed in relief as he recognized that he did what was thought to be impossible at first.

Hunnigan then had a tone of excitement as she was ready for them to come home. "Good work, Leon. I'll send a chopper over right away."

"What's the extraction point?"

"There's another trail that you can take to get out of the village. The chopper will pick you up beyond there."

"Got it. I'm on my way," and with that, he took Ashley's hand with a small, warm smile and guided her from the terrible room she was doomed to soon die in. He led her across the balcony and came to the ladder where he first climbed up. Then a mischievous idea crossed his mind, and straightening his face to still look professional, he asked Ashley, "Should I climb down first so I can catch you if you fall? You seem to look very weak from this place, and I don't know if you may slip from the ladder rungs…" being truthful, but with ulterior motives.

Ashley stopped to think briefly, then answered tiredly, not thinking it through really, "That may be a good idea… thanks for the offer."

So Leon swiftly flew down the ladder, then he raised his arms up to catch her, looking ever so slightly underneath her skirt to see white panties with three hearts across the hem… which earned a well-deserved and well-aimed boot to his face, as she still stood at the top of the ladder, now with only one boot, pulling down her skirt to block his view, and Ashley menacingly growling, "I hope you wish to keep your balls, because it would be a shame to lose them!"

Taking the 'hint', Leon scowled and looked only in front of himself so he couldn't see under her skirt when she dropped down into his arms. Letting her go, Leon then became serious again, drawing his handgun, as he led Ashley by the hand behind him to protect her in case anything happened.

Running towards the chapel doors, a frighteningly ominous voice made them halt in the center walkway between the pews, speaking softly, but powerfully, "I'll take the girl…"

Leon stared viciously at the man dressed in violet robes, lined with gold, whose dark eyes seemed to pierce right through him. And growling protectively, he hid Ashley behind himself, and snarled back, "Who are you?"

The man motioned to the entirety of the chapel and spoke again, "If you must know, my name is Osmund Saddler, the master of this fine...religious community…" his voice being like a sadistic lullaby.

Leon began to back away, keeping Ashley far away from this… frightening man… Saddler. "What do you want?"

"To demonstrate to the whole world, our astounding power, of course. No longer will the United States think they can police the world forever. So we kidnapped the President's daughter, in order to give her our power, and then send her back."

Feeling Ashley convulse slightly, Leon turned sharply to find her clutching her throat, her voice fearful as she witnessed an unconscious flashback. "No..." And afraid of what it was, she fearfully whispered to him, "Leon, I think they shot something in my neck…"

Leon then faced Saddler again, this time with a look of pure vengeance as anger flowed through his veins. "What did you do to her?!" Leon spat back.

Saddler just ignored Leon's temper as he continued to exude a tremendous vibe of superiority, "We just planted in her a little...gift. Oh, there's going to be one hell of a party when she returns home to her loving father. But before that, I thought I might bargain with the President for some...donations. Believe it or not, it takes quite a lot of money to keep this church up and running."

He himself hating religion, Leon's voice took on a dark tone, "Faith and money will lead you nowhere, Saddler."

Then Saddler laughed, as if remembering something that was of peak interest. "Oh, I believe I forgot to tell you that we gave you the same gift." And with that, Saddler sadistically smiled as he motioned to Leon.

Leon was struck back when he remembered what he thought was a dream after he fought the titan at the lake. "When I was unconscious…"

"Oh, I truly hope you like our small, but special contributions. When the eggs hatch, you'll become my puppets. Involuntarily, you'll do as I say. I'll have total control over your minds. Don't you think this is revolutionary way to propagate one's faith?"

And hearing that, Leon became enraged. "Sounds more like an alien invasion if you ask me!"

Then the chapel doors flew open to reveal two robed men, obviously not like the villagers, armed with flaming crossbows aimed at Leon. Immediately, Leon grabbed Ashley's hand and dashed for cover as one flaming arrow struck a pillar where Ashley's head was the second before. Dodging the rest of the arrows by a slim margin, Leon and Ashley leapt daringly through a stained-glass window, and wound up in the storage area that was locked from the outside.

Looking around himself, Leon stood up, then helped Ashley to her feet. "You okay?" he asked carefully, hoping the fall didn't hurt her.

Ashley managed to stand with him, though it took her strength to do so. Fearfully holding onto Leon's hand, she nervously whispered, about to emotionally fall apart, "Leon, what's going to happen to us?"

Gently holding her up, Leon bravely replied, hoping that the strength in his voice might empower her, "Don't worry, we got into this mess, we can get out of it." And with that, Leon held her hand even tighter as they left the storage area and ventured into the pitch-black darkness of the cemetery…

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A/N: Hello, to those who maybe interested, I'm glad that my first RE fic has drawn many good reviews and has been added to many favorites' lists. As an author, I am curious of what others think of my work. So, if you could, in your reviews, please give me comments, compliments, criticism, or anything else you may think may help me improve. Thank you.

And if you wish, I have a trivia question for you: How do you get the Mafia costume for Leon? First person with the right answer gets a picture of a cookie. Enjoy!


	8. Chapter 7: I Will Guard

Chapter 7: I Will Guard

The penetrating darkness of the farming area closed in as Leon downed the last few mutated villagers with the fading, sharp sounds of his handgun's recoil. Whistling in a calling gesture, Ashley readily raised the lid of the storage container she was hiding in, jumped over the edge of the bin, and ran towards Leon to continue on.

'_She has been such good company… How did she manage to survive and still continue to be so kind?'_ Leon thought, wiping blood off his hands, and offering one for her to hold, which she gratefully accepted.

Entering into a barn, Leon climbed up into the loft with Ashley following close by, climbed out the open loft window onto a makeshift tin roof, and walked lightly over to an area that was previously inaccessible. Jumping down off the roof, Leon called to Ashley to stay behind on the roof, quickly scouring the closed off area for more parasitic villagers. But as they both could see, none had remained after Leon's thorough assault. "Ashley, the coast is clear; go ahead and jump!" Vaulting off the roof, Ashley landed gently in Leon's waiting arms, no longer worried about him trying to peep under her skirt.

Then as they approached the massive wooden gate, Leon realized that it was locked, but sure enough, he found away around that.

"Ashley, I have an idea!"

She looked at him quizzically as she mentally noted the height of the gate. "What's that?"

"You can stand on my shoulders, pull yourself to the top, drop down on the other side, and unlock the gate for me!"

"That just might work!" she happily replied, and she swiftly climbed up onto Leon's shoulders, grasped the top of the gate, and with Leon helping her by pushing up on her feet, she pulled herself onto the top of the gate. Then with a gentle leap, she landed in front of the door bar. But the impact tore open the injury on her upper thigh, the place where she injured herself in despair, causing Ashley to cry out in pain.

Leon heard her soft cry, and worriedly shouted to her over the gate, "Ashley, are you alright?!"

"M-My leg! ... It's…"

"Ashley, please try to unlock the door, but be careful, so you don't make it worse."

She staggered to her feet, and while avoiding standing on her hurt leg, she slowly took the bar off the gate, though with great effort. "It's…It's open!" she replied back, her pain evident in her voice.

Instantly, Leon ran through the open door, picked her up carefully, swiftly set her down on a nearby crate, and tenderly raised her skirt only enough to see the wound, to find that it had become seriously infected.

Ashley hadn't told him about it, thinking it would only cause him to worry even more so. But seeing as her wound progressed from a gash to suddenly splitting apart and revealing damaged tissue, she began to explain herself, "When I was being held captive, they gave me no food or water for days, so to survive until someone came, I had to…"

"Shh… I understand…," Leon whispered as he took out a small medical kit, and placed beside her a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a wrapping bandage, needle, and stitching thread. "Ashley…" Leon carefully said as he wiped off the excess fluid from the wound with a sterilized napkin, "I won't lie to you, but this will be quite painful. Do what you must to not scream, alright?"

Ashley fearfully looked into his eyes, but saw he only had the best of intentions, so nervously preparing herself for him to clean the gash, she wrapped her arms about his shoulders tightly, burying her face into his neck to muffle her voice. And when she was ready, she weakly replied, only loud enough for him to barely hear, "Go."

Taking off the cap of the rubbing alcohol, Leon paused before he began to pour it onto the open injury, thinking about what he was about to do. _'Let this be the only pain she must endure…' _And with that, he slowly began to pour it onto the wound, eliciting a sharp cry that was stifled by his shirt as she tightened her hold on him. _'Please, be strong for me…' _he prayed as he continued to flush out the gash until he was sure that the infective bacteria were all destroyed. "Ashley, it's over. The worst part is over."

Releasing her grip on him, Ashley pulled away from Leon, shaking from the residual pain and shock, and pain-induced tears stained her cheeks. Leon kindly wiped away her tears with his thumb, and said assuringly, "Ashley, you did good. Now… to stitch you up."

At which, once she heard about being 'stitched-up', she trembled and shied away from the needle. Leon then reconsidered, and settled for just wrapping her leg up with the wrapping bandage.

To Ashley's relief, he put away the thread and needle, and wrapped her leg up snugly to prevent any more damage. Once he finished, he admired his handy work, and let her get off the box and walk with his assistance.

Only a few feet away was an old bridge that led to a two-story cabin. Knowing it was the only way to go, Leon and Ashley slowly stepped out onto the rickety bridge. About halfway going across, Leon's communicator rang. Taking it out, Leon saw the image of Hunnigan. "Leon, I have some bad news."

Leon sighed, knowing sooner or later, something else would go wrong. "I'd rather not hear it."

Hunnigan came back with a snide tone, "Well, I'm afraid I have to tell you anyway. We've lost contact with the chopper. Somebody must have shot it down though, we can't determine who…"

"Great..." he muttered under his breath as he steadied Ashley, as she was growing weak from standing still on her injured leg.

"We're prepping another chopper for you. Meanwhile, I want you to head towards the extraction point."

'_Thank god we still at least have someone coming to our aid…'_ "Got it." And the transmission ended, leaving them alone once again in the dead of night on the bridge. "Alright, Ashley, time to go…" Leon whispered as he released his hold on her shoulders to allow her to walk alone, and they continued on, reaching the end of the bridge shortly after.

But as their feet touched upon the earth on the other side of the bridge, low curses rode on the wind, reaching Leon's sensitive ears instantly, and with a sudden turn, he saw that the entire bridge was crowded with the infected villagers, holding torches up against the rain, their yellow eyes burning the darkness away.

As Leon looked behind, Ashley stared in horror of what was ahead of them; another mass of people surrounding a two-story cabin, glaring at her, and awkwardly making their way to them both. Feeling her fear take its toll on her body, Ashley grabbed Leon's arm, and quaking with terror, she almost cried out, "What are we gonna do, Leon?!"

Knowing that their window of escape was quickly closing, Leon quickly responded, "I hate to say it, but we're sandwiched all right." Then looking back in Ashley's direction, he saw the cabin that could, at least, provide temporary sanctuary. "Quick, in that cabin!" Taking hold of Ashley's hand, he ran as fast as he could without hurting her in the process, and threw himself ahead of her into the door, breaking it open as they both dashed in. With her energy reserves depleting fast, Ashley collapsed onto the floor as Leon swiftly shut the door, when he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Leon…" Luis slyly grinned as he purposefully tossed a door jam to Leon, who gratefully smiled back, caught it, and immediately barred the door. "Small world, eh?" he continued as he strode up to Ashley, helping her up off the floor, then catching a glance of her chest, cockily remarking out loud, "Well, I see that the President's equipped his daughter with ballistics, too."

And hearing this made Ashley recoil in her new found fury, "How rude! And I don't believe there's any relevance with my figure and my standing. Who are you?"

Luis reared back and recollected his ego before answering her sharp reply. "Ho ho, excuse me, Your Highness. Perhaps the young lady might want to introduce herself first before asking someone his name?"

"Her name's Ashley Graham, the President's daughter," she said, still in a harsh tone, eyeing him suspiciously.

Glancing back at Leon, Luis whispered to him, trying his best to be discreet, "Is she… you know…?"

Not quite thinking about the question posed, Leon replied, "Don't worry. She's cool," as he continued to shove bookcases in front of the windows and pick up anything that could be later deemed useful.

"Ehh… never mind," knowing Leon didn't get it. "There's supposed to be some obvious symptom before you turn into one of them, anyway…"

Turning her attention to the commotion outside, to her horror, she saw the Ganados advancing up to the cabin, ready to tear the cabin apart to slaughter them all. She unconsciously let out a terrified gasp, which alerted Leon and Luis, and once their attention was on her, she cried out, "Look!" pointing feebly at the windows that were now shaking uncontrollably.

"Ashley, upstairs!" Leon shouted as he cocked his riot shotgun, ready for all hell to break loose. Heeding Leon's order, Ashley ran upstairs and hid in an old dresser, trying desperately not to breathe in the disgusting smell of contaminated blood.

Drawing his Red9 pistol, Luis gave a low, dark chuckle and said to the door that was about to break down, "Okay...it's game time…" And as he finished his sadistic phrase, the Ganados pushed down the door, toppling to the floor at Leon and Luis's feet, starting the battle that lasted until the bitter end…

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"Vamanos!" a leading Ganado shouted to his comrades, deciding to retreat until another opportune time, since their onslaught was met with a much greater defense than they originally thought possible.

Looking over the fading figures that slowly began to disappear, Leon watched them carefully to make sure that the retreat wasn't just a ploy to distract and overwhelm them. Finally seeing the last few vanish, Leon spoke emotionlessly, still with a serious leer in his eyes, "Looks like they're backing off."

Luis holstered his gun and walked around the downstairs table, curious of what came next. "So, what do we do now?"

Leon watched Ashley slowly come downstairs, scanning her for any more injuries. Then returning his attention to Luis, Leon replied coolly, "The bridge I crossed to get here is out, so I guess we have no choice but to keep moving."

Then Luis went towards the broken front door, and before Leon could question him, Luis spoke quietly, "I forgot something. You guys go on ahead…" leaving Leon confused in the doorway, staring after his mysterious friend until the darkness was all he could see.

Leon then muttered to himself, "Luis…" as he hoped that nothing happened to him while he was gone. Seeing Ashley coming to his side, he remembered his mission, and taking her hand, they left the cabin, and traveled on in the dead of night…


	9. Chapter 8: I Will Conquer

Chapter 8: I Will Conquer

Bracing themselves against the bitter, howling wind that whipped up from the canyon, Leon and Ashley slowly made their way to a ski-lift, careful to not let themselves be blown off the dark cliff edges and into the impaling rocks below. Reaching the shelter of the lift station, Leon turned on the power to the lift, making it functional again. Then taking Ashley's hand, they jumped aboard on one of the moving gondolas and began to cross the chasm, only to find that on the gondolas that were about to pass them brought more Ganados, threatening Leon and Ashley with hatchets and bows.

"Ashley, get down!", Leon protectively shouted above the screaming wind, readying his rifle to shoot the Ganados off the lift before they had a chance to attack them.

Crouching onto the metal grid-work flooring of the gondola, Ashley stayed low so as to not endanger herself and not distract Leon.

Crossing the canyon without so much as a scratch, Leon and Ashley continued on until they found themselves on the property of a dilapidated barn. Sensing that danger lurked inside and that all was too quiet for it to be safe, Leon whispered before he crept any closer to the barn, "You'd better stay outside. Ashley, go hide!" and after she spotted a good place to lay low, she quietly responded, "Yeah…" and with that, she swiftly ran for cover behind a small shelter of fire wood, hidden well, but allowed her to run if necessary. _'I just hope it won't come to that…'_ and he bravely strode to the doors of the barn, turned a handle, and flew in, scouring the barn for life quickly with his eyes and his handgun drawn.

But a shadow passed before his eyes, unnerving him, as he had the worst feeling that whatever it was, it crept right up behind him. Turning in surprise, Leon barely had time to see who his attacker was before being knocked to the ground in a solid below. It was Bitores Mendez. Mendez then casually turned back to the front doors of the barn, then to Leon's horror, Mendez grabbed the handles and twisted them around each other, the terrifying sound of metal tearing apart and scraping each other tore through Leon's skull. Then turning back to Leon, he charged him, reaching for Leon to break his neck in a strangle hold when Leon rolled out of the way, and in a moment of genius, Leon kicked over a barrel of gasoline, spilling to the floor and pooling at Mendez' feet. "Hasta luego…" Leon said in a snide tone as his lips curled slightly in defiance as he aimed at the gasoline at Mendez' feet and fired, lighting Mendez up like a Christmas tree. But Leon nervously watched as the fire snaked its way back to the gasoline canister, quickly jumping out of the immediate radius before he got blown to hell. The barrel exploded, setting the rest of the barn on fire, as Leon landed as safely as he could without being burned.

But Mendez was somehow still alive, even though he was still on fire. As Leon stood up and watched Mendez in disbelief, Mendez' body mutated before his eyes. Leon felt his stomach turn as he heard skin tearing apart, muscle ripping from bone and saw Mendez had severed his body into two parts, connected only by an exposed spine. Then Mendez' fingernails elongated into claws and two extra limbs sprouted from his back, becoming something truly frightening…

------------------------

As Ashley waited patiently outside the barn for Leon to return, she suddenly heard gunshots ring out, piercing the silence around her. Then a split second later, the barn burst into flames, causing her to scream without control. "LEON!!!"

------------------------

Wearily trudging to the place Mendez had fallen, Leon disgustedly picked up his false red eye, curious if it was important enough to take. Deciding to play it safe, he took it with him anyway. Jumping through a side window that had been blown out, Leon found himself in an alley beside the barn. Then he heard a rustling of the leaves, and spinning sharply to see who it was, he found himself face-to-face with Ashley.

"Are you okay, Leon?" she worriedly asked him, noticing his clothes were singed and that he looked a little worse for wear.

Finding her presence to be comforting, Leon finally smiled warmly at her and joked lightly, "There's nothing I can't handle." And taking her hand, he spoke once again, "Let's get out of here, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's!" she softly quipped as Leon led her away from the burning barn, and from the pain he felt before…


	10. Chapter 9: I Will Fall

Chapter 9: I Will Fall

The screeching of the truck's tires pierced Ashley's ears as she hid behind Leon, who had just managed to kill the Ganado at the wheel of the oncoming vehicle that threatened to crush them. Knowing that the truck would spin out of control, Leon took hold of Ashley's hand and backed up to a safe distance away, letting the vehicle careen into the cobble-stone wall, rendering it seemingly harmless.

But the fact that the back half of the vehicle was covered with a large canvas top sent Leon's instinct off. _'It feels like a trap…'_ Leon thought nervously to himself as he raised his firearm and trained his sight on the back flaps of the canvas. "Ashley…" he whispered quickly, "Something's not right. I want you to hold onto me because I have a feeling that everything isn't as it seems to be…"

Ashley looked at him in fear, then drew close to him, asking him in the same, soft whisper, "What do I need to do?"

He never glanced away from the canvas-top as he quietly answered her. "Press your back to mine so you can cover my ass while I watch the truck. You'll be my early detection canary, in a manner of speaking…" Then Leon took a brief glance at her face, which spoke of uselessness and helplessness. To lift her spirits, Leon spoke again, but with more feeling than he ever allowed himself on missions. "Ashley… I don't think you realize how much you've helped me already. With you as another pair of eyes, nothing could possibly ambush us, lessening the chances of us meeting an untimely end…" And he paused to wonder if the next words were those he would kick himself later for. Cautiously, he murmured so softly, he was barely audible. "I need you… to help me…"

Feeling something within drawing strength from his gentle words, Ashley managed to flash a small smile as she went behind him and pressed her back to his, and held onto his free hand tightly, finding solace in his touch.

And with that, Leon began to slowly advance upon the truck as Ashley walked backwards to follow. Sliding to the edge of the path that wasn't blocked by the truck, Leon kept Ashley as far away as possible from it at all times as he crept slowly by it. Once clear of the truck, Ashley watched Leon's back, scanning the top of the slope for any oncoming Ganados as Leon continued to eye the truck in suspicion. Reaching the top of the slope, Leon began questioning why his instincts went off when there clearly wasn't anything there. Frustrated, Leon dropped his aim and shifted his eyes to the ground as he kicked the dust… to hear the silence shatter in an instant as the canvas-top of the truck was ripped to shreds as at least a dozen Ganados poured forth, and with deafening screams, they raced up the incline to kill Leon and take back Ashley.

Leon froze in horror for a split-second, but when Ashley gripped his hand in fright and cried out in terror, Leon felt rage surge through his veins as he fought ferociously to shield her from them. Leveling his gun with deadly accuracy, not a bullet was wasted as Leon shot perfectly into every skull of the ambush force.

As Ashley watched him annihilate the entire troupe in mere seconds, she found comfort in the fact that even though the attack surprised them and put them at a disadvantage, Leon had the ability to wipe out anything that dared face him, human or otherwise.

When the last body fell lifeless to the dusty path below, Leon could sense his adrenaline fading, his pulse returning to normal, his breathing evening out. Ashley gently stroked his arm, startling him a bit, but upon seeing her, he gave a slight smile. "I think we need to keep going… just until we find a place to rest."

Ashley looked about herself for a moment until something caught her eye. "What about that castle?"

Glancing in the direction she was pointing, he thought, _'Why not? A secure place to hunker down for a few hours…'_ and he replied, "Looks good. Seems the drawbridge is just around the corner. Shall we go?" As he said the last part, he gave her a small, playful grin, remembering that laughter was the best medicine for anything, according to his old friend, Daisuke Bartons. _'Or at least, light-heartedness to survive the trauma of fighting for your life…' _Leon thought again as he humorously mused.

Quickly jogging down the trail, they found the entrance to the drawbridge, but before they could step foot onto it, a mass of Ganados charged towards them, hoping to catch them before reaching the castle.

Preferring to save ammunition, Leon shouted to Ashley, who was ahead of him, "On the other side of the bridge!"

"Yeah!" and with that, she ran ahead of him as he ran alongside her, scanning for the drawbridge cranks beside the massive castle doors. Finally spotting them, Leon pointed to the crank closest to Ashley and roared over the howls of the Ganados, "You take that one!"

Seeing the crank, she knew exactly what he meant. "Okay!" and ran towards the crank on her side.

Positioned by the crank opposite Ashley, Leon gripped the crank handle and shouted back to her, "Ready?" and once, she nodded with determination, they turned the crank handles, slowly raising the drawbridge right before the Ganados could rush across.

Satisfied with the infuriated mob shouting crude obscenities from across the mote, Leon turned to Ashley and said, "Come on…" reaching out to her before he pushed open the castle doors.

"Yeah…" she sweetly answered, following him faithfully into darkness of the castle…


	11. Chapter 10: I Will Wait

Chapter 10: I Will Wait

Pausing to catch their breath, Leon and Ashley stood silently in a dark alcove in the foyer, just beyond the massive castle doors they came in from. Noticing that Ashley was taking much longer to recuperate than usual, Leon began to worry. Gently rubbing her back, Leon asked her softly, "Ashley, are you alright? …Should we rest for a while?"

Not wanting to be more of a burden than she felt she already was, she quickly interjected, "No, no! I'm fine. We can keep going! I'm fine, really…"

Leon raised his eyebrows in skepticism, and replied, "Ha… I can see that you're clearly not fine; you've got shadows under your eyes, you're running out of energy, and your leg needs to take a rest."

Before she could protest again, Leon suddenly ripped an old curtain from a high window, shook it violently to get rid of the accumulated dust, and laid it on the floor, turning the drab curtain into a temporary mat.

Finally giving up her feeble protest, Ashley laid down begrudgingly as Leon sat with his back to the dark alcove wall, watching her settle down and quickly drift into a restful sleep.

As soon as her breathing slowed and evened out, Leon began to mull over the fast-paced events they had so far been through. _'…It's only been a little less than a day since I arrived here, and yet so much has happened within such a short time. Just like six years ago…'_ and suddenly, his thoughts turned sour, trying to repress the horror he narrowly survived before. Then glancing over Ashley's sleeping form, he felt a smile unconsciously grace his lips as he turned his dark thoughts to her. _'She's amazing… how she had survived before I came. She's a survivor, that's for sure. And for her to still be holding up against a severe emotional break down and collapse is astonishing. Does she have the same strength and will to survive like I did in Raccoon City that day…? Most likely, for her to have made it this far without help. But… why her? She shouldn't be here, in this place, under these circumstances… She should be in the safety of her father's estate, in Washington, D.C. She doesn't deserve this… this hell of torment that will forever scar her mind. But… considering that although she is from a background of pampering and dependence, she has overcome everything imaginable. What an extraordinary girl…' _and with those last thoughts, Ashley's eyes began to flutter as she started to stir from her light slumber. And as Leon watched her slowly wake, he thought once more, _'…All the more reason to protect her and cherish her…'_

------------------------

After their harrowing dash through the battlement area, Leon and Ashley stumbled into the barracks, finding themselves alone, for the moment, in the downstairs common area. A sudden beeping caught Leon's attention and he turned on the communicator for more instructions.

"Leon, what's your current location?" Hunnigan asked while her eyes were averted to a screen next to her, trying to locate his position via GPS, but quivering with interference.

Ignoring her subtle confusion, Leon responded, "We decided to lay low in a castle, but it looks like it was a bad move."

Then Hunnigan's eyes shifted to meet his over the communicator. "Meaning?"

"Well it appears that this castle's also connected with the Los Illuminados. They must not get many visitors cuz they're giving me one hell of a welcome..." Leon clarified, unconsciously adding more of his dark humor at the end of his statement.

Hunnigan grimaced. "Sounds bad. I have an idea, Leon. I need you to---" then the line abruptly went into static, killing her face and voice.

"What? Repeat, Hunnigan." Leon stared at the screen, hoping that he had just hit a bad spot for the signal, but something in the back of his mind told him otherwise. "Great… Just my luck."

Ashley nervously glanced at the blank screen and asked in a small voice, trembling, "Leon, what's going to happen to us?"

Looking back at her, Leon suddenly held her tight against his chest, and whispered softly in her ear, "Do you think I can't protect you well enough? Do you doubt my ability?"

Ashley held still for a moment in his arms, then buried her head into his strong chest as she whispered apologetically back to him, her voice muffed by his shirt, "No… I believe in you…"

"Good. That's better…" and with that, he released her, and held her hand as they continued on…

------------------------

As Leon and Ashley approached the locked castle gate, a familiar voice sounded out behind them. "Leon!"

Hearing his name, Leon spun around and saw Luis running towards them. "Luis…"

Finally, Luis reached them then bent over with his hands in his knees, trying to catch his breath. After a short pause, Luis went on with what he came to inform them about. "I've got something for you guys!" which earned Leon and Ashley's full attention, and he began digging through his pocket… to find nothing. "Uh... What?!" Then he nervously tried his other pants pocket to feel nothing there either, then as he felt his rear pockets, Luis unceremoniously grated out, "Oh, shit! I must have dropped it when I was running away from them…"

"Dropped what?" Ashley curiously asked, wondering what was so special that he risked his life for it and was currently berating himself for losing it.

Luis calmed down and answered her squarely, "A drug that'll stop your convulsions…" and when he saw Leon and Ashley look at each other in worry, Luis decided to come out with it. "Look, I know you are carriers. You've been coughing up blood, right?" Luis asked seriously as he eyed Leon first, beckoning him to admit it.

Catching the intensity in Luis' eyes, Leon lowly muttered as he looked away, "...Yeah…"

Then Luis' eyes turned to Ashley, waiting for her to answer as well. "And you?"

Ashley hesitated for a moment before giving her response. "…Yes."

And suddenly, to their surprise, Luis ground out in worry, "Damn it! The eggs have hatched. We don't have much time..."

Listening intently to what Luis just said, Leon was now curious of exactly how much Luis did know, figuring he was absolutely no regular citizen. "What are you talking about?" Leon demanded sternly, wanting to get to the bottom of Luis' secrecy.

Luis stopped, then said in determination, "I have to go back and get it…" choosing to side-step Leon's question, since now was not the right time to tell him what he wanted to know. Then Luis turned and started to walk away.

Ashley quickly caught his hand, making him turn back around to face her, and she said with the feeling of wanting to be helpful, "Let me come with you."

Then Leon, without understanding why, felt as if something had just hit him in the gut, trying desperately to control himself, though what Ashley said hurt him deeply for some unknown reason.

Luis, sensing that Leon was bothered, responded quickly to Ashley, "No, you stay here with Leon. He is better with the ladies…" and with a quick glance at a stunned Leon, Luis softly grinned before continuing on, "I'm sure."

Shaking himself of the stupor both Ashley, then Luis, had put him in, Leon just wanted to understand what prompted Luis to do something like that. Finally getting his voice out, Leon confusedly asked to Luis' back as he slowly walked away, "Why are you---"

Then with a slight hand wave, Luis silenced Leon as he walked away into the darkness. "It makes me feel better… Let's just leave it at that…"

Leon stared after Luis' receding form until he finally dissipated into the darkness of the night, unsure of Luis' motives, but thankful for sparing him the grief and pain of losing Ashley to him.

But to Ashley's surprise, Leon turned to her and whispered firmly, "I thought you said you believed in me… didn't you?"

And then Ashley felt shame building within her at the loss of Leon's faith and trust, and she hung her head and tried her best to hold back the tears of regret that were about to overflow. But she couldn't stop them as they fell freely down her face, feeling guilt drowning her in despair.

Seeing Ashley in such a state, Leon gently held her, allowing her to cry upon his shoulder, and when her tears turned into muffled sniffles, Leon whispered softly this time, but with pain, "Ashley… We should go now…"

Then once they were on the move again, Ashley was entirely obedient, scared of hurting him again, as they slipped into the shadows of the castle balcony…


	12. Chapter 11: I Will Save

Chapter 11: I Will Save

After Leon and Ashley found the key to the gate of the castle and upon taking the first few steps into the main hall, soft laughter bounced around the acoustic structure of the walls and ceiling, making the sound seem as if it was coming from every direction.

Cautiously, Leon led Ashley further up the majestic scarlet carpet as the cackling grew louder and more maniacal, until the source's voice was found on a balcony above the main hall. Leon sharply looked upwards to find someone small in stature, but powerful in presence. The small person had an ancient feel to his face and hands, due to the paleness of his skin and the wrinkles of age showing. He wore attire suiting of Spanish 17th century royalty, seeming almost akin to the French leader Napoleon Bonaparte. Two shadowed figures with long robes, cryptic masks, and a staff in their hands materialized as they stood silently at his sides, tall and strong against the fragile body of the castellan.

Leon sensed hostility in the air as he took note of the man and his bodyguards, and how cynical the man's aura was.

"I was starting to wonder when you might notice us…" the small man started with a nerve-racking voice, being small, light, and with slight accent, but a voice that could set one on edge immediately, nonetheless.

Leon composed himself, unsure of the new circumstances he found himself in. "Who are you?"

"Me llamo Ramon Salazar…" the man spoke in his native tongue with regal energy, "The eighth castellan of this magnificent architecture. I have been honored with the prestigious power from the great Lord Saddler. I've been expecting you, my brethrens…" Salazar ended with a snide tone in his eerie voice.

Deciding to use Salazar's words against him, Leon sarcastically spat back, "No thanks, bro…" calling to mind that Salazar had called Ashley and him 'brethren'.

Interested with the fact Leon had some dark humor himself, Salazar responded lightly, "My my, we've got a feisty one. If you care for your own well-being, I suggest you surrender yourself and simply...become our hostage. Or, Mr. Scott, you can give us the girl, since you're not worth a penny, I'm afraid. You can die…" and with the last few words he spoke, Salazar gave a sweeping motion, then vanished from the balcony along with his guards. And just as suddenly, the floor of hallway underneath the balcony began to raise showing a mural with three pieces from it missing.

"I'm never turning into one of them! Never!" Ashley cried, holding onto Leon's hand for support.

Stirring him from his own thoughts about why Salazar had called by his middle name, more so about how Salazar even knew his middle name, Leon replied to Ashley's panicked cry, "Got that right. We'll find a cure…" then he took her hand and they went through the door that led to a prison area, containing a strange creature within the lower vault.

Creeping by, Leon and Ashley silently neared a corner in the far hallway. Feeling that it would soon become dangerous, Leon signaled to her to stay still and hidden as he lunged into the next room. Leon found himself face-to-face with a wall of flames coming from the mouths of two horse statues poised on both sides of the room. He went into an alcove where a painting of Salazar hung, with a gleaming object hidden within the paint. Lightly peeling off the delicate paint, Leon extracted a key to the prison they passed earlier.

Coming out of the hallway, Leon then went to the door that locked the prison area away. Unlocking the heavy iron door, Leon glanced around the prison, finding the cell in question. Upon seeing the hulking creature chained to the wall of the solitary cell, Leon motioned for Ashley to stay where she was until whatever was down there was dealt with.

Quietly, Leon descended the stone steps, taking care to not make a sound. When he came upon the cell, Leon spotted a lever on the wall beside the chained human-like figure, but then became nervous of how to get to it.

The figure that was bound to the wall was tall and very muscular, with a steel helmet and half shoulder plates, and sewn-shut eyes. But the most frightening aspect of the figure were the long, sickle-sharp scythes that seemed to sprout from both hands, making the thought of opening the cell almost sound like suicide.

Leon finally steeled his nerves and carefully opened the cell door, and nothing happened, to his surprise. Then Leon took one step into the cell, closer to the lever, but also closer to death, of which he could hear faint breathing within the steel helmet. Still, nothing happened. Another step… and he barely dodged in time before being impaled as the clawed creature wrenched its bonds from off the wall and lunged for the cell door. Landing out in the middle of the prison area, the creature began walking slowly, as if listening for the heartbeat of its prey.

Leon took hold of the lever and gently pulled it, cutting off the fire-breathing horse statues in the other hallway, leaving him with his last objective; get the hell out of there.

Unfortunately, the creature heard the click of the lever being pulled and dove back into the cell where Leon was, who side-stepped first as a precaution, which paid off. Then Leon slipped to the cell door and tried to close it again, but the creature forced the door off its hinges, causing it and the door to fall into Leon, which pinned him to the floor.

Then a terrified scream pierced the air, driving the creature into a frenzy as it left Leon under the gate, trying to find the source of the scream so as to silence it forever. Scared of Ashley getting hurt, Leon threw the door aside, allowing him to roll away from it as the creature came back to trap his claws in the ground just a few feet from Leon. Taking advantage of the predicament the creature was in, Leon leveled his shotgun and aimed for the exposed parasite on its back, then shot it at close range, throwing the creature off balance and onto the floor. But with inhuman speed, the creature leapt onto its feet and quietly strode towards Leon's position.

"Leon!!!" Ashley cried out, unfortunately catching the creature's attention, which sent it lunging up the stairs to the prison gate, barreling towards Ashley.

Terrified for her life, Leon threw himself in front of the prison gate, into the creature's path, and mentally betting his life to save hers. Leon lifted his shotgun and once his target was at point-blank range, before thrusting its claws through Leon's body, he pressed the end of the barrel to the monster's chest, and pulled the trigger. The blast punched a hole through the monster's body and destroyed the parasite, as the fallen enemy was blown backwards, hurtling down the stairs and laid slain on the prison area floor.

Calming down after his brush with death, Leon slowly turned around to the prison gate, unlocked it, and as he stepped into the hallway over-looking the prison, found Ashley scared stiff and paralyzed with fear where she stood. Gently touching her shoulder, Leon spoke with an annoyed tone, "You really need to stop screaming when I get in fights, y'know…"

Finally relaxing from her previous rigid stance, she felt embarrassed and ashamed of her inability to stay quiet when things go wrong. "I'm sorry…" she quietly managed to get out, feeling her voice beginning to strain against the tears she tried to hold back.

Leon saw her sincere regret and tenderly embraced her, quickly silencing anymore of her feeble attempts to speak. But rounding the far corner of the hallway, streaming in from the fire horse room, was a large group of Zealots armed and ready to fight. "Sorry, but duty calls, once again…" Leon darkly smirked as he let go of Ashley's small figure, and turned to fight a skirmish that would last no longer than a minute…

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Author's Note: This is Albedo XL, once again, here with yet another Resident Evil trivia question.

The reward for the winner of this chapter's trivia question will write a paragraph (can take place between the Hall of Water and Ashley's abduction) that will be featured in the next chapter of my fanfic, 'Resident Evil 4: In This Darkness, Love Is Born'. The paragraph may be 5 to 10 lines long.

Now here's the million-dollar question: What treasure in Resident Evil 4, when combined to its entirety, yields the most profit (has the highest value)?

Good luck, and no cheating! And I won't accept anymore answers after the next chapter is posted; many people answer the trivia long after is was published and with a winner already selected! Gotta be fast, guys! See you next time on 'Resident Evil 4: In This Darkness, Love Is Born'.


	13. Chapter 12: I Will Remember

Chapter 12: I Will Remember

Leaving the fire-breathing horse statues behind them, Leon and Ashley suddenly found themselves in an expansive hallway, about 20 meters wide, 100 meters long, and 20 meters tall, with a wall bisecting the great hall. But without time to pause for a breath, the blue cloaked Zealots began to close in on them from their left, right, and front.

Using his lightning-fast reflexes, Leon dove under the frontal wave of attackers with Ashley close by him. Dodging the resultant flaming arrows, thrown scythes, and swinging bludgeons, they ran farther into the grand hall until they found a section that was partially underground. Deciding to use close-quarter conflict to funnel the entire attacking force into smaller, controlled spaces, Leon and Ashley fled down the stairs of the hall into a large room that rested just underneath the partition of the hall.

As Leon readied himself for battle and Ashley standing patiently behind him, the unsuspecting Zealots came in through the door across the room, channeled so much that only one could come in at a time, allowing them to be easily taken out without much effort.

As soon as no more monks came, Leon and Ashley stood on opposite sides of the room on the pressure-sensitive yellow panels, then heard something rising up in the great hall and they went back up to the main level and spotted the crank that was raised.

Ashley looked at Leon curiously as she asked, "So… who's gonna turn the crank?"

"I suppose you should…" Leon replied as he reloaded his rifle, "If I were to do it, and more monks came out, I couldn't protect you…"

She sighed, then focused on her task at hand as she gripped the crank and began to slowly turn it, lowering a stairway that led up onto the barrier wall. But as she started turning the crank, more Zealots appeared with flaming crossbows from behind the barrier walls, reminiscent of a medieval castle siege. Immediately throwing himself in front of the crank podium, Leon put his body in danger to protect Ashley. Swiftly peering through the rifle's laser-sight, Leon quickly downed one Zealot after another until none were left standing.

Once the stairs were lowered completely, they ran up them to find a small walkway with pools of water on both sides. Running through the walkway, they finally came to a secluded area that dead ended at a large body of water that reached the far wall with a door and the two alcoves of the dry area could allow Leon to raise Ashley to the higher level to turn both cranks to raise more platforms to get across and out of the Hall of Water.

Going into one of the alcoves, Leon quickly whispered to Ashley before he hoisted her up, "I'll be watching you…," and she was lifted to the higher level with a slight blush creeping across her face. Suddenly, it seemed as if the floodgates of hell had then just burst open as wave after wave of monks began to charge after Leon, and try to kidnap Ashley.

Then the muffled cry of Ashley reached his ears as he whipped around to see one particular monk hauling her over his shoulder, with one hand holding her legs still to keep her from kicking, and the other sliding up underneath her skirt. "ASHLEY!" Leon screamed as he saw the monk about to violate her, and with disregard to his own safety, Leon instantly pulled out his rifle, aimed, and decapitated the Zealot, leaving Ashley too terrified to move. Lowering his firearm to calm her down, he replied urgently, "Ashley, you need to finish turning the---", but he was cut off in mid-sentence as he felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder as something buried itself deep within the muscles of his upper back. Howling in pain, Leon's rage peaked as he swiftly pulled out his combat knife, swung around, and slit the throat of the monk behind him that had thrown a hatchet into his shoulder.

Ashley cried out in horror as Leon turned his back to her, giving her a full view of the open wound, but seeing his durability, she continued turning the cranks, but with more fear than ever.

As soon as she finished turning the first crank, she dashed across the overhead bridge to the other side to work on the next crank as Leon watched her through his rifle's laser sight the whole time. Once both cranks were turned as far as they could go, platforms raised themselves up from the water at Leon's feet, finally paving a pathway to the exit of the Hall of Water.

"Ashley!" Leon shouted, "Let's go!"

Then Ashley came close the ledge of the closest alcove where Leon was waiting for her, and jumped into his arms, trying not to hurt him in the process. But just as Leon had caught Ashley, the last group of Zealots came charging after them with the most powerful attacking force of all.

Rather than release Ashley to save him from the excruciating pain his shoulder was in, Leon held onto her tightly as he ran to the floor's edge where tile met water, and pushing his pain aside, he leapt from platform to platform with Ashley in his arms, leaving the monks behind.

Crashing through the hall doors, they finally came to a resting place within the Observation Hall. Gently letting go of Ashley, she was free to move again, as he pulled out, for the second time, his field first-aid kit.

Taking out the rubbing alcohol, thread, needle, cotton balls, rubber gloves, and bandaging tape from the kit, he then asked, "Ashley, could you do this for me? I'm unable to see what the hell I'm doing and I can't reach…" signaling to his back as he sat on the floor, took off his shoulder gun holster and shirt, and all the while gazing curiously at her.

Ashley's face reddened as she saw his well-toned, muscular body, scarred from previous fights then she smiled at his questioning face as she sat behind him and replied, "Of course. Since you took care of my leg, I'll take care of your back…" then she looked at the medical supplies, and asked, "Uhh… So what do I do first?"

"Put on the gloves to protect your hands, take the cotton balls, and wipe off the excess blood, then pour some alcohol over the wound, and finally stitch me up."

She felt sick at the sound of having to stitch him up, but she forced herself to put on the gloves then gingerly dab his wound with a cotton ball until the wound was visible. "Ok, now, Leon? I'm about to use the alcohol…"

Leon shuddered and exhaled sharply. "Go ahead…"

Unsure of what his reaction would be, Ashley began the rinse out the gash, at which, Leon immediately hissed in agony and recoiled into himself. Once she was sure that the wound was clean, she replaced the bottle cap and set it down, and then she lightly rubbed her hands up and down his arms to soothe his tremors. "How are you doing?"

He inhaled with some trouble, then responded, "Ehhh… ok… go ahead and stitch me up…"

Ashley felt herself grow pale at the thought and nervously asked, "A-Are you sure? But I don't know how!"

Leon then looked over his shoulder at her with a kind smile. "Just try your best. I promise that you won't hurt me." Then he laid down on his chest on the floor with his arms perpendicular to his body, and explained, "This will help keep the skin close and make it easier for you to sew together."

"W-Well, ok…" she answered as she carefully threaded the needle with the stitching wire, sat beside him, and gently stitched his skin back together. Leon was patient with her, ignoring the small needle that dove in and out of his skin, pulled his skin together, and closed up the wound.

After she finished with the thread and needle, Ashley then took a strip of the adhesive bandaging tape and applied directly to the stitch-work to keep both the stitches and skin in place. After placing the strip, she gingerly patted his outstretched hand and whispered close to his ear, "You're done…"

Leon slowly sat up and smiled at her once again as he answered back, "Thank you…"

"You're welcome…" Ashley replied as she retrieved his shirt and helped him put it back on, all the while trying to get over her nausea from sewing him up.

Once he was ready to go, they set off for the hallway at the end of the Observational Hall.

Suddenly, Ashley felt an overwhelming sense of nausea, then coughed into her hand to find blood beginning to stream from her palm and leaking from the corner of her mouth. Leon became scared as he nervously touched her shoulder when he asked, "You all right?"

Then Ashley pushed him away from her and began to dash down the hallway, yelling at him, "I'm fine! Leave me alone!"

"Ashley, wait!" Leon shouted back to her, sensing that something was about to happen to her. Then once she did turn around, steel bars thrust up from the floor, just inches from her body, frightening her so much, she planted herself firmly against the wall to avoid anymore spikes.

Leon now roared, "Ashley!" just as steel bonds appeared at her sides, wrapping themselves around her small frame, holding her still against the wall.

Ashley shivered in terror as she fearfully cried out, "What's going on!?" just before the wall rotated, and held her still in a world of darkness.

Afraid for her safety, he screamed as loud as he could in hopes of her being able to hear, wherever she was, "Don't worry, Ashley! I'm coming for ya!" Then his communicator began to ring, catching his attention. Wrenching it from off his belt, he began speaking without looking at the screen, "Hunnigan, what happened? The transmission got cut off---" then an unwelcome voice interrupted him with a sadistic laugh, earning Leon's full attention. Once he saw the screen, Leon yelled in rage, "Salazar! How'd you---"

"We've jacked the line…" Salazar said in his fear-inspiring voice as his lips twisted into an evil grin, "We didn't want you telling anyone any unnecessary information."

"Where's Ashley?!" Leon spat back.

Salazar's grin then grew even wider, "Aw... So she fell into one of our wonderful traps. We'll make sure we find her. Don't you worry about her. Oh, yes. I let out our miserable insects out for some exercise down in the sewer."

Sure that Salazar wouldn't reveal very much, Leon responded in sarcastic contempt, "Thanks. That should keep me company cuz boredom kills me."

Salazar softly laughed once again, and responded once more, "I look forward to our next encounter... In another life…" and with that, Salazar's face was gone, leaving Leon alone to fight his way to get back Ashley…


	14. Chapter 13: I Will Mourn

Chapter 13: I Will Mourn

After charging past the slaughtered Novistadors in the underground cells, Leon finally came upon the gallery where he found Salazar once again, perched precariously at the edge of the central platform, looking menacingly down at Leon's exhausted body. "What a pleasant surprise," Salazar snidely remarked, "But I'm afraid it's Ashley we need, not you, Mr. Kennedy…"

Frustrated with even more mind games, Leon roared back with a snarl, "If you don't need me, then get off my back, old man!"

"Did you say old man, Mr. Kennedy? It might come as a surprise, but I'm only twenty years old…" and Salazar still smiled sadistically as he showed of his stature.

"So you're just like all the others. A puppet of the parasites?"

Chuckling at Leon's insinuation, he replied softly, "Surely you don't think I'm the same as those diminutive Ganados. The parasites, Las Plagas are slaves to my will. I have absolute control…"

Leon grew tired of the on-going ego trip and responded with finality in his voice, "Well, I really don't give a damn. Rain or shine, you're goin' down!" Then immediately, many zealots were summoned to Salazar's side armed with scythes, crossbows, and rocket launchers.

With an annoyed expression on his ancient face, Salazar ordered, "Get rid of our American friend…" and was escorted away quickly from the site of the impending battle.

Drawing his firearm, Leon whispered before the first shots were fired, "Ashley… wait for me…"

------------------------

Reaching the garden outside under the dark night sky, Leon received yet another transmission from Salazar. As the visual feed turned on, Salazar's face came into view as his corresponding voice congratulated Leon. "Mr. Kennedy… Still alive, I see. So, do you like my garden?"

Glancing at the perfectly trimmed hedges of the garden filled with domesticated Comillos and their zealot keepers, Leon spat back disgustedly, "I see you've managed to work in a little of your twisted taste here, too..."

Lightly chuckling at Leon's remark, Salazar answered, "Sagacious as I am, even I get lost here sometimes. Even if it takes your whole life, you'll never get out. Do you know that no one dies without a cause? You will satisfy the stomachs of my cute pets. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to tie up a few loose ends… Like chasing down a couple of rats…" and Salazar's face disappeared from the communicator as the transmission ended.

Confused with his last statement, Leon thought out loud, "Two rats...? If one's Luis... Who's the other? There an intruder besides me?" Then quietly, he wondered to himself, _'…Where is Ashley? Why is it taking so long to reach her? Why all of this… for her?' _And with that, Leon continued on and began fighting his way through the garden infested with parasitic hosts.

------------------------

After unlocking the door of the room that looked over the garden balcony, Leon silently walked in, checking out the place. Then a shadow passed by his own on the wall, and once it finally caught his attention, it was too late. Before he could respond, he felt something cold on his back, concentrated at the middle of his spine. "Put your hands where I can see them…" whispered a female voice from behind him as she held her gun to his back.

Realizing it was a woman, Leon relaxed back into his snide humor; "Sorry, but following a lady's lead just isn't my style."

Then the woman raised her gun and pressed it to the back of his head, and coldly said again, "Put them up now…"

Taking a moment to wish he had said nothing, he spun and grabbed her hand, wrenching away her firearm, which she countered with a cartwheel that knocked the confiscated gun into the air. As she reached into the air for her gun, Leon drew his combat knife just as she caught her weapon, but before she was able to aim, Leon blocked her gun and threateningly held his knife to her exposed throat, resulting in an undeniable checkmate. Finding room once again for his dark humor, he whispered quietly into her ear before he withdrew his blade, "Bit of advice - try using knives next time… Works better for close encounters…" and then as he pulled away, he took her gun, ejected the clip, and threw the now harmless gun to the side. As he turned back to face the woman, she took off her sunglasses. It was Ada Wong.

"Leon... Long time, no see…" Ada calmly said, her slim figure in a red cocktail dress contrasting with the bright lantern outside the door in the garden. A sly smile graced her lips as her midnight-black hair framed her pale face and almond-shaped eyes.

She had supposedly died 6 years before in the Raccoon City incident from a long fall after failing to save her "boyfriend", who turned out to be an unsuspecting scientist from whom she was trying to steal information. Now that she was standing before him, Leon was filled with an overwhelming feeling of betrayal, knowing that she was working for Wesker to get the T-virus all those years ago while taking advantage of Leon's help. His voice laden with scorn, he grated out his reply, "Ada... So it is true…"

Ada shifted her weight onto her back leg as a slightly-curious smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. "True? About what?"

"You, working with Wesker."

Hearing his sound conviction, she decided to give him a pat on the back; "I see you've been doing your homework.."

Leon was visibly pained as his voice mirrored his torn emotions. Who meant more to him? Ashley, the sweet girl that always made him proud, or Ada, the serious one-time love interest with a history of betrayal? His choice was clear, but hurt nonetheless. "Why, Ada?"

Scoffing at his sensitivity to their reunion, Ada released her grip on her sunglasses as they fell silently to the floor then she sneered her reply, "What's it to you?"

Trying to figure out the reasons for her sudden appearance, Leon queried in cold anger, "Why are you here? Why'd you show up like this?!"

"Heh…" Ada cruelly jeered as the sunglasses she had dropped erupted into a blindingly bright light that filled the entire room, stunning Leon just long enough for Ada to collect her gun and clip, then made a break for the window. Before she fled, she called out with baited-breath, "See you around…" then she finally disappeared into the pitch black darkness of the night.

Enraged by her sardonicism, Leon shouted after her, "Ada!" but she was long gone. Resentful of their encounter, Leon then decided to continue on to find the girl that began to mean everything to him…

------------------------

Unsure of how long she had been standing fastened to the wall of the observation room, Ashley began to become quite annoyed, surprisingly. Fear, despair, and panic had been long gone since she grew to have the utmost faith and trust in Leon to come for her as soon as he possibly could. But it had been hours since they were separated and her feet were really beginning to hurt from having to stand against the wall that bound her.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice up on the observation deck whispering just loud enough for the words to cross the vast distance between them, "Hey, senorita! Looks like you fell into more trouble, eh?"

"Luis!" Ashley quietly gasped in surprise, then with slight irritation, she replied firmly, "I do have a name, y'know!"

Then the all too recognizable sounds of fighting began to escalate in intensity as a powerful force drew near, silencing everything in its way. As the din of battle came closer, Ashley and Luis fell into a nameless fear and dread of what was coming…


	15. Chapter 14: I Will Scream

Chapter 14: I Will Scream

Frozen in terror, Ashley and Sera dared not to breathe as the tell-tale signs of a vicious skirmish drew ever closer. At the last second, Sera dove behind the upper mezzanine door from which the sounds came as Ashley desperately fought her steel bonds in futility to hide from the oncoming onslaught.

Then silence erupted from behind the door Sera had hidden behind. The doorknob creaked as the door slowly opened up.

"LEON!!"

Leon sharply turned to Ashley, who was on the lower mezzanine, and his battle-hardened face immediately softened to a gentle gaze as he beheld Ashley, relatively safe and unharmed.

Slipping behind Leon as his attention was focused elsewhere, Sera disappeared into the door Leon came through, then burst into the upper mezzanine as if he was never there and had just arrived upon the scene.

As the door opened once again, Leon turned to find Sera re-enter, and with something in his hands. "Leon! I got it!" Sera gleefully cried as he approached Leon . Then a soft 'thump' resounded through the chamber as Sera was cut off from any other words he would have said.

Watching Sera being ominously impaled by a large, organic spike, Ashley screamed in terror, as Leon stood there agape, helpless to stop the horror that began to unfold. Sera gasped for air as his defenseless body was lifted into the air, faintly hearing Leon crying out, "LUIS!!"

Something glimmered in the light as it slid from Sera's twitching hand, a cylindrical canister with an eerie violet fluid inside, falling perilously to the floor before it came to rest in Saddler's outstretched palm. Then Sera was flung violently to the floor as the spear-like appendage disappeared underneath Saddler's robes. "Now that I have the sample, you serve me no purpose…" Saddler said with a hint of triumph, and without a shred of remorse.

"Saddler!" Leon ferociously roared as he knelt by Sera to help ease the pain of the impact and to stem the blood loss.

Saddler leisurely turned to Leon with disgust at his pitiful attempt to save Sera's life, and grimly spat back his reply, "My boy Salazar will make sure you follow the same fate…" And he vanished from Leon's view as he forcibly preoccupied himself with helping ease Sera's pain, knowing full well that they were his last moments alive.

Ashley, watching the scene's gruesome end, with tears blurring her vision, screamed at Saddler's fading figure, "You bastard… YOU BASTARD!!" and even after he was long gone, she still recited that curse with such vehemence that it still held its original viciousness.

"Stay with me, Luis..." Leon plaintively said, trying his best to mask his grief, but Sera already knew it was too late.

Trying desperately to sit up by himself, Sera struggled under his own strength, and was then forced to lay down by Leon when he finally revealed to him his true purpose for being there; "I am a researcher..." he got out with a harried gasp, "… hired by Saddler… He found out what I was up to…"

Leon eyed him with seriousness as he realized what danger Sera went through to help them, when it was contrary to his very mission. He took a deep breath and whispered back forcibly, "Don't talk…" not trusting his voice to hold up against the tears that threatened to break him, when he felt Sera press something into his palm. Leon only needed one look to know what it was for; it was the pills that would stop the convulsions temporarily to bide them time to find a way to destroy the parasites within their bodies; the pills that Sera risked his life for.

"Here…" Sera said as he retracted his hand, "It should suppress growth of the parasite. The sample... Saddler took it..." and he whispered fiercely, with a dead man's finality, "You have to get it back…" And with that, he laid his head back and closed his eyes, and no longer was he Sera, but a mere shell of the man that was Luis Sera.

Tears broke free from their restraints as Leon cried his name softly, then feeling Luis' body grow cold in his hands, he screamed his name again with an unknown sorrow. Ashley had been quiet for some time now when Leon was finally able to cope with the loss of Luis Sera, when she finally had enough strength to softly say across the void, "Leon… I know your pain; I feel it, too… But we have to go on, and I can't go on without you, so…" and with as much empathy as she could show in her eyes, she gazed at Leon, who was only 30 ft up above her, but felt so far, she whispered just loud enough for him to hear, "Please… help me…"

Looking down at her wilted figure, his eyes then showed an emotion she never thought was possible for him to know; fear. Morbid fear. The debilitating kind of fear. "I… I can't… No, I can't, Ashley…" Fear gripped his heart as he slightly backed away from the edge, knowing she could become just like Sera if he missed; the only way to help her was to shoot the bonds from off of her, in which her safety, and life, was on the line, and in his hands.

Ashley, when she saw him slowly step away, her eyes went wide as she became fearful that he would run away, and leave her behind. "Leon! Please don't leave me!" she cried out to him, straining against the steel bands that held her in place, "Help me, Leon! PLEASE!"

Leon forced his eyes shut before he shouted back at her, "Ashley, I don't want to hurt you! If I miss, you'll die!" He felt as if intangible iron claws were piercing through his heart as he imagined a shot that missed, and fresh tears began to well up. "I don't want to kill you, damn it!"

"Leon…" she spoke in a surprisingly calm tone to soothe his nerves, "I've seen the way you're capable of aiming at distances far greater than this, and still manage head shots. You can do it…"

He silently thought to himself about she was, in fact, correct, but doubt still lingered in his heart and mind. "But this is different, Ashley, you know it is…"

Then her voice became more forceful while retaining its smoothness, "You CAN do it… I trust you…"

That did it. He felt a welcome sense of calmness as he slowly raised his rifle, sighting the first of the metal bands, and said in a monotone voice, the voice he used when concentrating, "Ashley, close your eyes… and count to three…"

She hesitated a moment then slowly closed her eyes, and as she counted, he would take shot, obliterating the steel bonds that held her, and with every shot, she'd wince from the ricocheting echo of the gunfire, but once she reached three, she was finally released. After it was all over, she stretched out her legs from the cramps she had from standing for hours, then looked up at Leon with a cocky attitude and remarked with slight smirk, "Talk about near death experience…"

Leon returned the gentle grin with one of his own, but at that moment, several robed Illuminados poured forth into the lower mezzanine, coming after Ashley in a wall of fury. "Ashley, get out of there!" Leon shouted to her as he raised his rifle again with concrete resolution to protect her, no matter who or what got in the way.

She backed up as far as she could into the alcove she was just held prisoner in for safety, and when she ducked down low with her head between her knees and her hands over her head, Leon let loose his wrath upon the zealots that began creeping towards her, with perfect aim at the back of their heads. As soon as the first wave of zealots were all killed, Ashley immediately ran for the nearest door, but cried out when it wasn't opening, "The door's locked! I can't open it!" Then as soon as she could finish her sentence, the next wave came for her, forcing her to crouch low in the alcove again and wait until Leon was finished with them as well.

As Leon watched Ashley from above, he spotted a scarlet-robed leader whose pendant flashed in the light, and resembled a key. "Ashley, the key is on the leader's neck! Get it once I'm through with them!" he told her from behind the scope of the sniper rifle, and within a mere 15 seconds, the entire troop laid slain at Ashley's feet.

Once she got up, she looked up at him with an eyebrow cocked and said in an curious tone, "You were able to decimate their entire force, yet you doubt yourself when it comes to me. Also, you leave something to be said for your lack of keeping things clean," hinting at the bit of blood that sprayed onto her shirt and skirt.

Leon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and remarked, "There was nothing in my mission briefing that specifically stated to keep the scene of any skirmish clean."

Ashley ignored his pitiful excuse, and grabbed the key from off the dead zealot's neck and told him before she disappeared into the unknown behind the door that would lead her back to him. "I got the key! I can get out!" She exclaimed before she flew through the door in a hurry, leaving Leon to worry for her safety.

'_Now, I actually have time to think to myself…' _Leon began in his mind, _'Ashley, please be safe… For my sake…'_ and with that, he hunkered down at the edge he had shot from earlier, with his legs hanging over the edge and leaning, yet supporting his upper body with his rifle as he sank into that void within his mind…

--

With her first few steps beyond the door, she found herself in a moderately-sized room connected to another larger room, but that had a zealot in it. She carefully made her way around the room, picking up anything seemingly useful for Leon, like ammunition, herbs, grenades, and the like before heading into the next room to face off with the lecherous zealot. Steeling herself beforehand, Ashley charged into the room, leading the monk in a full circle before she found an ingenious way of killing him herself; the kerosene lamps. Grabbing the closest lamp, she spun to face her would-be attacker and threw it with unknown force, smashing it into his chest, which erupted into a fireball and engulfed the zealot, soon rendering him lifeless on the scorched floor.

'_My first kill… Yet, I feel no remorse… Mostly likely since I've already seen so much death, and the fact that they seem to have no conscience makes it easier to bear…' _she thought quietly to herself before she moved on.

Another dead zealot later, Ashley came across a room with a dais in the central point where she gathered more gems and bullets when she found a memo of sorts. As she read through the memo, she backed up against the painting across from the dais when she felt a chilly breeze. _'There must be a passageway behind this painting, but how to open it…'_ she thought to herself as she checked the dais again to find a impression in the center of it.

Keeping that in mind, she left the room and continued down the hallway to a room with gates and suits of armor. Unsure of how to progress, she simply went under a table to the nearest switch and pressed it, watching a gate in the far corner of the room lift, tempting her to go that way. When she crossed under the risen gate, she then found a stone tablet, sure that it was somehow going to be important later, before she pressed the next available switch, allowing Ashley to finally cross over to the other side of the room. Pausing at the door, she mentally prepared herself for what was to come, and with a swift movement of her hand, she flung open the door to find that the corridor was pitch black.

Now feeling uneasy, she got out a flashlight and flicked it on, making sweeps of light with it as fear began to take hold of her, now that she might run into enemies in near total darkness. Each step she took was tentative as she crept passed more eerie suits of armor, some holding a sword or axe high above their heads, forever frozen in place.

The farther down the corridor she went, the more her hair stood on end, feeling an intangible chill in the air, Ashley being unsure of whether it was because of a draft or fear. Soon enough, she came upon a wide open room with suits lined against each wall with a pedestal in the middle with a sliding puzzle, a piece obviously missing. Drawing from her childhood memories of solving these kinds of puzzles, she quickly solved it and placed the missing piece where it belonged, and a few clinks later, another door creaked open, allowing her to pass through.

This room was filled with treasures, which Ashley took, when she came upon the Salazar family insignia. Lured by the gleaming object, as soon as Ashley took it, it triggered a secret wall to revolve and reveal a box, at which she could barely contain her curiosity. Carefully opening the lid, she found the Serpent ornament inside and gingerly picked it up.

At which the instant she did so, she heard the sound of clanking metal from the other room, her heart sinking as fast as it had risen with her curiosity, knowing exactly what was coming for her. Terrified, Ashley quickly flashed her light towards the door of the room to find a horrifying spectacle.

'_The suits of armor are alive!'_ she thought in a panic as she stifled a cry, watching the Armaduras pour into the room as she stood fixed where she was. But before one of the armored parasites could take a swing at her, she dove under the table, seemingly confusing them for the moment. Then a loud crash forced her to run past the mob as she saw from the corner of her eye the end of the table shredded by the fall of an axe.

Narrowly avoiding more run-ins, Ashley ran as fast as she could, or at least as fast as her injured leg would allow her, back up the corridor, but not quickly enough as the falling sword of an Armadura caught the edge of her skirt and slammed her to the stony floor. Barely noticing the revealing tear through the side of her skirt, and a superficial cut along the outside of her thigh, she bolted before the suit got another shot, almost forgetting the flashlight in the attack.

Making it back into the room of gates, she ran through the gate closest to her and in a panicky state was able to press the corresponding switch to close the gate. And not with a moment to spare as the beginnings of the mob of Armaduras tore down the door she had just fled from, banging loudly at the iron gate she'd just closed. Proud of her work, she took a few seconds to taunt the force of suits before turning to the door to get back to the room with the dais and painting, but not before she realized at the last second that the door was guarded by a solitary Armadura, watching with shock as she saw its blade pass just inches from her body to imbed itself in the floor.

Taking that time to get away, she ran into the hallway and turned off her flashlight since she had no time to beforehand, and returned to the room where she found the butler's memo. Once she stood in front of the dais, she took out the Salazar family insignia, turned it over in the light, marveling at how exquisitely it was made, before inserting it into the dais, which prompted the painting to move aside, allowing Ashley to climb the ladder that was hidden.

As she reached the top of the ladder, she followed the winding passage to a single door at the end. Cautious, she opened it slowly, but flung it open soon enough as she caught sight of her savior. "Leon!" she cried as she took off towards him.

Leon whirled about with a mixture of shock and pleasure on his face as he turned towards her, opening his arms as he called back to her, "Ashley!"

The instant Ashley landed in his arms, Leon buried his head in her shoulder and held her close to himself, feeling her body against his once more, allowing thankfulness to wash over him. To him, it felt like a million years since he held her last, knowing that it had only been a few hours. With a gentle chuckle, he patted her back and rocked her side to side as they held each other. "You did good…" Leon said as he finally pulled her back a little bit to look into her eyes, when he noticed that her skirt was torn on the side and showed more of her thigh, with the slight cut, remarking out loud, "Nice view…"

When their eyes locked, Ashley suddenly lowered her eyes with residual grief from what she had done hours before, quickly apologizing; "I'm sorry if I was…"

"Don't worry about it…" Leon replied, cutting her off to spare her the pain of reliving those moments again, flashing a small, but sweet smile as he did so.

But as he said that, Ashley pressed her face against his chest and wrapped her arms around him tightly, unwilling to let go. _'Oh, Ashley… She really is sorry, and has been grieving over it ever since she was captured…'_ Moved, he allowed himself to rest his head against hers, letting her hold him for as long as she needed. As far as Leon was concerned, he needed this as well, the feeling of being close to another human, since humans were hard to come by now.

Ashley lifted her head slightly, looking past Leon to see the body of their fallen friend, and she choked back a sob as she released Leon and began walking towards the body of Luis Sera. Stopping just a few feet away, she stood looking over him, taking note of the care Leon took to give some amount of decency to his friend's death,; the closing of the eyes, the draping of a cloth over the fatal wound, and the peaceful placement of the arms, being lightly folded over the abdomen from what she could tell by the curves under the body cloth.

Leon followed closely behind her, watching her reaction to the sight of Sera. Without hesitation, he let his arms encircle her waist, holding her steady as she continued to gaze upon the body, when he whispered into the crook of her shoulder, "He's in a better place."

"How could you say that? He was butchered, for Christ's sake…" Ashley said without emotion, careful to restrain herself from an outburst. But deep in her heart, she knew it to be true; no one could ever harm Luis again. Then she felt Leon's grip on her tighten as she backed up into him, allowing herself to fully feel Leon's body against her own.

Wanting more her more than ever, Leon slowly brought his hands up to Ashley's shoulders and turned her to face him. By the way Leon looked into her eyes, Ashley knew that there was something more in his eyes, something that made her want him in the same way.

But before anything could come of it, Leon pushed away, afraid his feelings would get the best of him, knowing that there was much more to be done, and that they would have the time to explore what they had later. Still holding Ashley, he saw that she felt rejected, and he leaned in close while her eyes were closed to block the tears again.

Taking her by surprise, she felt something soft against her lips, and when she opened her eyes, she could barely believe it. But instinct took over her, responding to Leon's gentle kiss as he brought her flush against his body once again, feeling every one of her contours against his own. A tear slid from under Ashley's eyes, this new development being the answer to her prayer, the prayer for just a kiss from her savior.

But to Leon, this was so much more than a kiss. He craved her, wanted her more than anything else in the world. Truth being that he'd fallen in love with her before he ever saw her in person, loving that picture from his briefing, the same one that was in his pocket throughout this entire journey. And during their fight to survive, when he got to know her better, he loved her all the more.

With unknown desire, Leon deepened their kiss, slowly moving his hands down her sides, but stopped himself before things went too far. Slowly pulling away from Ashley, he held on to her shoulders once again, and said ever so softly, "Come on…" that she didn't take offense to it this time when he separated himself from her.

Taking her hand, he then added, "Let's move on…" as he led her away from Luis, never taking his eyes off of her, or looking back…

--

Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to put this up, but you guys have no idea what I've been through, so please spare me the anger you feel when it comes to the time I have to write; any nasty pm's about wanting me to continue writing will not be received with any amount of gratitude. Instead, nice little reminders here and there would be more appreciated.

Thank you all again for being so supportive of my work and I hope you're not too mad at me to continue reading and giving me your feedback! I love you all!

Dedicated to USWeasilgirl, and everyone else who's been a follower of my stories, for snapping me out of my 9 month long daze and bringing me back to reality. Thank you so much for your support.


	16. Chapter 15: I Will Escape

Chapter 15: I Will Escape

Before Leon and Ashley left the Mezzanine, a sudden beeping came from Leon's communicator as he let loose a low growl of frustration and irritation. Turning on the video and audio feed, the growl then became a snarl as Salazar came into view.

"Aw... what a touching moment we have here…" Salazar snidely remarked as he gazed at them both through the feed, tainting the moment with his voice, his very essence. Ashley placed herself behind Leon, moving out of view of the communicator to get away from Salazar's piecing eyes as Leon vehemently spat back at him, "All spoiled thanks to your interruption…" Then Leon paused for a moment to collect his thoughts before finishing with, "Why don't you do us all a favor and leave before the audience gets pissed off?"

Salazar laughed in his characteristically toxic tone, and threw Leon's words right back at him; "You're nothing but an extra in my script, so don't get too carried away. Your biggest scene is over."

Trying to keep his cool, Leon masked his expression with indifference as he replied, "I don't ever remember being a part of your crappy script."

"Well then…" Salazar said with a slight whisper, with a hint of sadism in anticipation of what lied ahead of Leon and Ashley, "Why don't you show me what a first-class script is like." And before Leon could respond, he added quickly, "Through your own actions." Then static filled the air as Salazar's face disappeared, finally allowing Ashley to come out from behind Leon.

Unsure of how to take Salazar's words, Leon put on his brave face and took Ashley's hand once again and they left, but within minutes, Leon and Ashley were standing opposite a lake of fire with a single mechanism that went across the chasm to an unknown place, the grand Dragon Room. With instinct telling him that it was too dangerous for Ashley to follow, he was forced to leave her behind for a little while, though every moment apart was beginning to kill him…

--

While Leon was gone, Ashley sat down beside the wall, away from the burning chasm, waiting for his return, and she took this time to evaluate what exactly was between her and Leon. Then she began to think about how she felt when he held her…

'…_I remember distinctly how it felt, the way his arms wrapped around my waist, holding me to his body… I could smell him, that faint musk through the blood and sweat as he buried his head in my shoulder… The way his hands slid up my body as he turned me around to face him. And when I looked into his eyes, I knew there was something there, something he had been denying himself for a very long time. I was more than ready to give him whatever he wanted, but he hesitated, and began to pull away. Fearful that I wouldn't get another chance, that he reconsidered his feelings, I closed my eyes to hold back the tears… when I felt his lips on mine. They were so soft that I could barely believe it was possible, for a battle-hardened operative to have such soft lips… And the way he rocked me against his body, the feeling of every surface of our bodies paired up together, the warmth I felt through his clothes… Then I felt his hands make their way back down my sides, his fingers trailing ever so gently along their path, lingering around my waist… But before things could go any farther, he gently pulled away, as I gazed back at him lovingly, knowing that then was not the time to explore, but that we'd have the time and luxury of that later, after we find a way out of this mess… _

_'... But I can't let go of the way he held me; how possessive he was over me, protecting me all those times he'd held me before then, when I was in danger from enemies, or my own darkness. And now…'_

She paused in her thoughts and gazed across the chasm, taking a moment to check for signs of Leon, but when she found none, she resumed thinking to herself; _'It must have been love the entire time. Whether or not I realized it, that what it eventually came down to, the heart of the matter. He must have felt the same way; otherwise, he wouldn't have held me, or kissed me, the way he did, or at all, for that matter. Had it been someone else, it most likely would have never happened, finding love within this battle for our lives… But I'm glad… to have finally met the man of my dreams…'_

And with that, Leon finally appeared on the other side of the chasm, coming back slowly on the crossing mechanism, back to Ashley, holding the Lion ornament, triumphant. As always.

--

A short rail car ride later, they ended up back in the same hall that they had first met Salazar, but this time being capable of going beyond the mural that blocked their progress. Once Leon placed all the ornaments in their places in the mural, it slowly slid back down into the floor, finally allowing them to pass through. After another rail car ride, Leon and Ashley wound up at the Annex.

Looking around the Annex, Leon led Ashley through the open corridor to find two statues on either side of a large door, a statue of a king on one side, and a queen on the other. But Leon stood confused, wondering what was supposed to be in their hands, something that was missing. Curious, Ashley stepped forward and examined the statues more closely, unafraid of any traps that Leon was concerned about, when she discovered the inscriptions talking about grails, solving their little problem.

'_At least she has no inhibitions when it comes to anticipating a trap…'_ Leon thought with concern he led her back to the entrance where they came in, and stopped to decide which path to take, the west or east wing first in search of the grails. At Ashley's bidding, they went west into the Weapon Exhibition room.

When they first went in, Leon immediately recognized the pressure-sensitive panels on the floor, four in total as Ashley looked over one of the two statues positioned in the middle of the room.

"Ashley, help me push these statues over the panels," Leon asked kindly as he readied his body against the stony figure of a knight, and once Ashley joined his side, they slowly pushed it over one panel and eventually did the same to the other statue. When both sculptures were in place, Leon and Ashley took their places on the remaining two panels, and once they were all activated simultaneously, a door rose up, allowing passage into the next room.

But once they entered the new room, they caught sight of Salazar, surprising Ashley once again how such a man of short stature could have such a frightening effect. "I think you've lived long enough," Salazar called out as he inched his way towards the door on the far side of the room, away from Leon and Ashley, "Lets see if you can survive this time."

The instant those last words were spoken, Salazar fled the room, cackling like a madman as the gate shut behind him, locking them in that room when the ceiling creaked to life, and began to lower. But the true terror only became apparent when from out of the patterned holes in the ceiling sprouted steel spikes, sure to make their death an even more painful one.

"No!" Ashley cried as she watched the ceiling slowly come down on them, falling down in her shock, as the clockwork in Leon's mind worked fast and hard, figuring out what could save them. The four sensors built into the ceiling in every corner gleamed mockingly at him as he quickly drew his firearm, took careful aim, since he might not have another chance, and pulled the trigger four times, not missing a single sensor. The ceiling came to a halt, the spikes stopping just a foot higher than Leon was tall, and the door that Salazar had fled through opened up a second later.

Leon took a labored breath as he then reached out towards Ashley, took her hand, and pulled her up on her feet, both of them still shaking slightly at such a close call. Then once his tremors were gone, Leon grumbled obscenities under his breath as he continued on, with Ashley close behind him as he went down the new corridor.

Reaching the end of the hallway, Leon had just made it across the threshold of a room when the jarring sound of metal flying through the air caught him by surprise, but when he turned around, his surprise turned into horror as he saw Ashley on the other side of a gate that had fallen in between them, trapping her in the corridor.

"Leon! What's going on?!" she fearfully said as her eyes went wide, but before Leon could answer, a wrecking machine crashed through the far side of the hallway, making its way towards Ashley.

Without thinking, Leon whipped out his sniper rifle, took aim, and with two shots, he had decapitated the two drivers of the machine, which triggered the door to open. But one of the driver's feet must have been made of lead and was still on the gas pedal since the machine didn't stop. Knowing if he didn't react soon, they'd both be crushed, so with one swift movement, Leon dove forward and grabbed Ashley around her waist, and with all of his strength, he launched himself, with Ashley in his arms, backward into the room at an angle so they landed away from the direct path of the machine. Not a second later did the machine crash through the iron gate, just a few feet away from Leon and Ashley.

For a while, all that could be heard was their heaving breathing, as Ashley still shook from residual terror and Leon gasping from the exertion of his effort. And once Leon got his breath again, he touched Ashley's shoulder and said in a ragged voice, "Next time, _I _say where we go…"

Ashley then smiled sheepishly as she quietly replied, "How was I supposed to know that we'd almost be crushed twice?"

--

Facing a hall of very still Armaduras, Ashley whimpered as she warned Leon about the dangers of the suits of armor. To Leon, they looked harmless, but when Ashley divulged her tale of her encounters with them, he trusted her completely, and cautiously approached them. And all too suddenly, the Armadura closest to Leon swiftly lifted its sword, giving him only a second to anticipate the attack when he expertly did a back flip out of the way of the sword, repeating this move for every swing the Armaduras took at him, eventually making it down the hall in one piece.

Ashley eyes him with jealously as she watched him pull off such stunning acrobatics, but followed him down the hall when he was finished with them.

But as she approached the end of the hall, Leon then motioned to her to wait there, getting the feeling that something was about to happen, so alone he went into the next room, gathering what supplies he could, preferring to leave the grail on the center pedestal until last. And the instant he picked up the grail, a gate closed in between Leon and Ashley, sealing him in the room. A second later, revolving walls brought out three Armaduras, which began to advance on him. Leveling his gun, he squeezed off a few shots, but only to realize that he needed something with a little more bang after the shots ricocheted of the armored suits.

Right before the Armaduras could take a swing at him, he ducked out of the way and ran behind them, whipping out his shotgun as he did so, taking a shot at the suit closest to him, blowing the helmet off of it to reveal the parasite within. Now with a menacing grin, Leon whispered to himself before he shot it to death, "Looks like I found a way to beat you…", pulling the trigger to completely blow the parasite to bits, as he did the same to the other two suits, and the three that followed after them.

When the last Armadura was decapitated, the gate between Leon and Ashley rose up, finally allowing him to rejoin her.

"So…" Ashley started, waiting for him with a snide smirk on her face, "Was this any better, since _you_ decided to go this way?"

"Oh, yes…" Leon calmly smiled back as he took her hand, "Since this time, I didn't have to worry about you getting hurt, or killed."

--

After they placed the grails in their respective statues' hands, the door between them became unlocked, allowing Leon and Ashley to pass through. But as they came into this new hallway to the Ballroom, something felt very wrong to Leon, putting him on edge as he cautiously led the way.

As they opened the door on the far end of the hallway into the Ballroom, Leon stood in shock of the enormous hive that hung at least 50 feet in the air in the center of the room, looking like an upside down anthill. But as Leon's eyes were focused upward, he barely had time to register a buzzing sound coming up behind them, but it was too late, for before Leon could reach out to Ashley or yell at her to watch out or duck, a Novistador came up behind her, grabbed her by the waist, and carried her high into the air as she screamed, "LEON! HELP!!" before she finally vanished through a hole in the roof of the Ballroom.

Rage boiled within Leon, coursing through his veins as he roared out to her before he was overtaken by emotion, "Damn it!" and before his voice failed him, he cried out "ASHLEY!!", with a feeble hope that it would somehow bring her back. But within seconds, he was surrounded by Novistadors, and with frustration and unrelenting anger, he muttered to himself quickly, "Great… More of them!" before taking blind aim at the closest target and fired, repeating that process until he drowned in his own sea of rage and despair…


	17. Chapter 16: I Will Continue

Chapter 16: I Will Continue

After he had completely destroyed the Novistador hive, Leon continued on to an outside walkway that connected to a bride to what seemed to be a clock-tower. But just as he set foot on the bridge, an unwelcome guest jacked his communicator once again.

"I wonder if you can see me, Mr. Kennedy?" Salazar inquiried with a snide smirk.

Leon's heartbeat quickened as his rage peaked, screaming back at him, "If you scratch her, I'll break your bones!"

Salazar just wagged a finger at him and replied, "First, we'll see if you can make it this far," then he paused and continued, "I'll be waiting..." Then the comm went dead again.

Without hesitation, Leon whipped out his binoculars to see where he was, and off to the right of the bridge and down below was Salazar, and behind him was Ashley with her hands tied behind her back, seeming to be quietly weeping and turning about to try to find Leon. "Shit..." Feeling exhausted, enraged and desperate, he quickly tucked away the binoculars and raised his rifle scope and began sniping the operators about to fire their catapults on the bridge he was standing on, watching with morbid satifaction that with every head-shot, he was demoralizing the enemy as they wondered how he could fire accurately from such a distance.

After that was all done, Leon dashed across the bridge, needing to find a way to rotate the clocktower bridge to connect with the fortress that Ashley and Salazar disappeared into. Quietly slipping behind a patrolling Ganado, he silently unsheathed his knife and with no time to waste, he cupped the enemy's mouth with one hand and slit his throat as deep as he physically could before moving on to the other guards.

In no time, he had slipped inside the clocktower, but none of the clockwork seemed to be moving due to some blockages in the gears. _'Between losing Ashley again, all these damned cultists, and so many stupid hinderances, everything is driving me bat-shit INSANE!!!' _he thought, as he climbed his way from the bottom all the way up to the top, all the while sniping the pieces of wood stuck in the gears, and as he reached the top, Leon threw the switch that began rotating the bridge to connect to the facade of the fortress.

But the instant the switch was thrown, as his luck would have it, the tell-tale signs of clamoring of enemies pouring into the bottom of the clocktower reached his ears as he heard them beginning to climb up to him. But from his vantage point, all he really had to do was snipe them, and when there were too many, he'd blow them off the railings, letting them fall to their death. In that slow and agonizing strategy, Leon finally made it to the bottom of the clocktower where the standoff was held, until he let something within him snap and drive him into a frenzy, and with that, that battle was quickly won.

As he stepped outside onto the bridge leading to the Watchman's Hallway, and to Ashley, Leon then came face to face with an opposing force he hadn't seen before, but knew that he could take on. Charging towards the shielded zealots, he dropped a grenade behind them as ran by, allowing them time to turn around and walk towards the grenades without noticing their presence. Leon smiled a split-second before they blew; the zealots hadn't noticed the little snap of him pulling the pins, letting go of the grenades and the clang of them hitting the bridge. The resultant explosions were a surprise to the remaining force and as they recoiled in shock and awe, it gave Leon the chance he needed to finish them all off.

Done with the force outside, he entered the Watchman's Hallway, only to be greeted by yet more zealots and two Garradors this time. The clockwork in Leon's mind began working as he would fire a headshot into the closest cultist, moving quickly over to where they were standing as the two Garradors came barreling down the corridor to bury their claws in the door Leon came through, exposing their sensitive Plagas on their backs. Throwing another incendiary grenade behind the stuck Garradors, Leon ran back a couple feet as the explosion killed another cultist and sent the Garradors into a frenzy as they began to strike at each other.

With another sadistic smile, Leon turned his attention to the other enemies in the room, using his shotgun to blow several away at a time, dodging the Garradors again and again unitl only the Garradors were left. When Leon finally had them positioned just right, he took out two pistols, one pointing to each Garrador with him at the dead center between them both. Then Leon fired one shot from each gun at the same time, striking each Garrador at the same time, and just as Leon dove out of the way, the last two enemies charged at each other with blades raised and aimed to impale... when they collided in a brutal mass as claws were sticking out of each other's Plagas on their backs, killing them.

Leaving the room, Leon continued a short ways up the corridor beyond, and barged into Salazar's throne room, with Ashley chained beside the cruel castellan and guarded by his bodyguards, two tall mutants in robes.

"Ashley!" Leon breathed, in shock that he had found her so quickly.

And in response, she cried out his name, as Salazar's Verdugo guards began to move in front of her.

Salazar, not keen on being left out, began to speak; "Mr. Kennedy, don't you know when it's time to throw in the towel?" And then he pressed a button, and all Leon felt was the sudden rushing of air as the world began to fly by him, as he watched in horror the view of the throne room running away as he was falling into the unknown.

Next to Salazar, Ashley screamed, "NO! LEON!!!" hoping that somehow her voice would save him.

But as Leon fell, he quickly threw out his grappling hook which caught on a wall, saving him from certain death, but as he looked about, he noticed something...

Ashley watched in fear as Salazar leaned in towards his reverse megaphone as he quietly asked himself, "Hmm...where's the satisfying sound of one's impalement?"

Leon was hanging from his grappling hook, aiming his firearm towards the megaphone in the chute as he snidely whispered, "Won't fall for this old trick," as he squeezed off a shot into the horn, ringing through the megaphone all the way up to Salazar, who got an earfull he didn't want.

Salazar recoiled on his throne with a surprised yelp and screamed out, "How dare you! No more games! Kill him!" And turning to one of his guards, he screamed even louder, "KILL!" And at that, one of his Verdugo bodyguards ever so slowly and gracefully left to kill Leon in the Traitor's Pit below as Salazar jumped off his throne and led the way. "Quickly! We shall prepare for the ritual!" he shouted as his other guard forced Ashley to her feet and began prodding her to come along.

But she was still clinging on to hope as she slowly walked along, quietly whispering to herself, "Leon... you're alive..."

------------------------

After rappelling a short ways down, Leon reached the Traitor's Pit, where all Salazar's useless servants and those that tried stealing from him ended up in, when Salazar called Leon, and when Leon kicked on the screen, Salazar was furious.

"So maybe you have nine lives. But it doesn't matter now, Mr. Kennedy! I've sent my right hand to dispose of you," Salazar evilly smiled.

And to toy with his mind, Leon cocked an eyebrow and asked with awe, "Your right hand comes off?"

"Say whatever you please." Then all Salazar's composure had broken and he screamed, "Die, you worm!!!" before cutting off the transmission.

Leon just chuckled darkly and progressed through the tunnel network he found himself in until he came upon a room where there was a service elevator, but the power was out. "Of course it can't be easy..." Leon muttered to himself, but just as he left the elevator to go looking for the main power switch for it, his intuition told him something wasn't right, then a long, black, quivering tail came from above and took a swipe at him as he dove to the floor just in time, but when he turned around, whatever was there wasn't anymore. _'For some reason, that just reminded me of those damned Lickers I ran into years ago...'_ then he involuntarily shivered as he shook his head of the painful memories, but taking notice of the fact there were numerous liquid nitrogen tanks in this area.

By now, he was running down the hall towards the abandoned station, dodging numerous tail attacks until he got inside, as he continued to run in search of a power console. Quickly, he found that it was in the very back of the station, and with atmost urgency, he flipped the switch. As soon as he did so, there was a promt that the elevator would be up in a few minutes, but until the power was fully restored, the station would have to be completely locked down, which meant he couldn't get out.

Nervous and twitchy, as his combat sense was going off the wall, Leon ran to the door to find that before the station was locked down, one of Salazar's Verdugo guards had made it inside, being uncloaked and looking as menacing as they come. Leon quickly backtracked and fired as he ran to keep the mutant at a safe distance when an idea came up. As Leon approached the liquid nitrogen tank, the Verdugo kept advancing, so he climbed up on the wall, using all his weight to disconnect the tank from its holdings and knocking it over to where it spewed liquid nitrogen steam, which had frozen the Verdugo, if only for a few moments.

Leon took advantage of this weakness and pulled out the magnum and began taking repetitious head shots before the Verdugo began to thaw out. All that damage was not enough to kill the mutant, but all the power was completely restored and the station door was now unlocked.

When Leon ran out into the corridor and towards the elevator, the Verdugo began using its tail attacks until Leon was in close quarters when it decided to try to take more swipes at him. Leon then leapt out of the way and onto the wall next to the liquid nitrogen tank next to the elevator and in no time had thrown it on the floor, freezing it once again. And this time, the Verdugo didn't survive to thaw out again. When the Verdugo laid in frozen shattered pieces on the floor, Leon used his boot to crush the largest remaining piece of its head as he ranted about it being the ugliest thing he'd ever beaten.

And when he was done proving his superiority, Leon straightened up and became serious again and climbed in the elevator, and as he was descending, he couldn't help but remark, "Elevator to hell instead of a stairway to heaven... Wonder if they'll write a song about _that_..."

A/N: Hey, this Albedo XL once again, just giving a report on the slightly new Resident Evil Degeneration CGI movie. When I bought it yesterday (yes, I'm THAT poor that I hadn't bought it until now), I was thinking 'Well, it features Leon, so maybe I might be able to learn more about his overall character and personality from a different perspective and plot to add more dimension to Leon in my fanfiction.' But when I watched it, I was very unhappy with it; Leon's character this time around was so cold, he would've been better if a rock played him. Seriously! And also the fact that he falls in love with ANGELA, not Ashley like I so wished. Perhaps it killed the movie for me because I'm such a huge fan of the Leon/Ashley pairing that it colored my view of it, but watching a stone-cold Leon kiss a completely new character with no real dimension to her killed it. And besides that, the english voice acting didn't match well with the lip movements EVEN THOUGH IT WAS ALL ORIGINALLY RECORDED IN ENGLISH!!!

The only redeeming part of the movie for me was the fact that Crispin Freeman, my favorite voice actor of all-time, was in it and did the best job of all.

Overall, I try to pretend that the movie never happened and I'd honestly rather go with what I think Leon is like rather than portray him like in the movie; a rock. And we think he's much more than a rock, right? I mean, in RE4, he shows a wide range of emotions that he just doesn't show in that movie. So that's my verdict and I'm sticking to it. So why did I tell all of you? I thought you might want to know, in case you ever began to wonder what on earth I was doing, taking liberties with his character, and because all I really have is RE2 and 4, I believe that I really don't have that much to work with, so bear with me.

Again, thanks to everyone that's been supporting this fanfiction from the very beginning a couple years ago, and yes, I do plan on finishing this project sometime soon, and I hope I can live up to whatever standards you may be laying on me. It's my greatest wish to get 50,000 hits, so please, refer friends that love Leon and Ashley! And if not, make them play the game, then read this fic!

Eh, ok, I'll get back to work writing more, but don't forget to review! Love ya'll!!!


	18. Chapter 17: I Will Overcome

Chapter 17: I Will Overcome

After making his way through the mines, underground caverns and through some ruins, Leon came upon what seemed to be an underground mining station with mining carts docked, seeming to be ready for traveling farther into the tunnels. But as Leon approached the carts, another villager force came to bear on him, trying to keep him from going any deeper. But, of course, they were no match for Leon.

Now alone at the cart docking station, he cautiously climbed up into the farthest cart back and shot the switch, activating the track and the carts began a smooth descent. While in the tunnels, Leon had to crouch a few times since someone thought it was necessary to put up boards spanning the width of the track at head level, and before he knew it, Leon came to another station, but filled with yet more villagers as one flipped a switch to halt the carts and they all began advancing, about ready to jump onto the carts with Leon. Shotgun at the ready, he began blasting the closest villagers off the platform they were about to jump off of, then he shot the switch to reactivate it, sending the carts off on their downwards journey again.

This time he counted on the decapitating boards to take care of the rest of the group that were on the carts with him, and while he was crouched in the last cart, an older women, clearly being controlled by the Plagas, began climbing into his cart just as one of those boards hit her, launching her over his head and onto the tracks behind him with a scream. More boards had broken on the journey to the next station as dead bodies littered the carts, but that didn't stop the next group from trying to board the train as well.

But worse than that, a chainsaw maniac was among the boarding group, and when Leon heard the startling rip and snarl of the chainsaw coming to life, his mind went blank as he automatically aimed at the switch to continue the journey, hoping to leave the maniac. But it was too late; before the carts had left the station, the maniac had just enough room to land right behind Leon.

In shock, but still in control of himself, Leon vaulted over the edge into the next cart, stopping to duck when a board was about to hit him, but he knew the chainsaw-toting freak wouldn't be harmed, so Leon continued to climb to the first cart, until a sharp, downwards spiral halted his progress, and even then, it was all he could do to remain somewhat upright because of the intense gravitational forces. Sure that the maniac couldn't advance as well, he felt relatively safe where he was, but the increasing speed of the train was getting to him. Then the carts emerged from the darkness on a straight track, but dead ahead, the track abruptly disappeared into a chasm below.

Thinking quickly, Leon saw a wooden platform on the other side of the chasm, and just as the cart he was in began to take the nose dive down into the unknown, he jumped with all of his strength and adrenaline put into it and leapt across the chasm... as he landed with his upper half on the platform, but began to slide back down. Fear coursed through him as he tried pulling himself up, but the shoulder that Ashley had sewn up was in excrutiating pain and was just about to give out.

_'...All I need to do is just see her again, make sure she's safe... Only then will I allow myself to give up...'_ Thinking that, Leon felt an unknown force within himself begin to struggle, trying to pull him upwards as his damaged shoulder complied, though not without giving him grief for doing so. Once he was completely on the platform, he collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily, weary from the exertion. But soon enough, he was ready to continue, and as he went on into the next room, he found the Stone of Sacrifice, allowing him to continue his search for the girl he loved...

------------------------

Making it to the Cathedral, Leon couldn't help but wonder what Salazar was thinking when he built a giant moving statue of himself three stories high in the middle of a supposedly holy place. _'For someone that damn short, he's sure narcissistic...' _he thought, manuevering his way through the three levels thanks to using the giant Salazar's hands as elevators. As soon as he flipped a switch that raised the platforms stretching from the statue to the doors at the far end of the Catherdral up above the standing water and unlocked the gate, Leon equipped his shotgun and began strolling down the aisle to the exit when he heard something.

Swiftly turning aroud, Leon caught sight of the statue breaking free of its restraints, now being obvious that it wasn't just a statue; it was a giant robot. Leon began to dash down the aisle as the robot began knocking over pillars, threatening to crush him as he ducked and dodged the enitre way to the exit, until he realized a couple yards away that the exit was chained. Firing a few rounds from the shotgun, it shredded the chains and a split second later, Leon kicked open the door and barreled down the bridge that led to a tower, hopefully leading him closer to Ashley.

The robot, though, didn't seem to be hindered by the Cathedral as it smashed its way through its walls and kept moving towards Leon. But as it began walking on the bridge, the ancient bridge couldn't handle the weight, starting to fracture and break under the robot. As the robot began falling, Leon sprinted as fast as he could to the other side of the bridge before it collapsed under him and before the falling robot could crush him. Jumping just as the entire bridge gave way, he caught onto the edge of the other side, dangling once again precariously on the edge of another abyss. This time as he thought of Ashley, his muscles gave him no trouble in hoisting him up, and as he lay for just a moment on the ground to rest, he was thankful that thinking of her had such a useful effect in helping him overcome pain.

As Leon regained his breath and stamina, he barged into the tower, this time to find Salazar and his remaining Verdugo bodyguard about to board a lift.

Salazar heard the sharp sound of a door hitting a stone wall behind him as he began clapping. "So nice you could join us, Mr. Scott Kennedy."

Furious, Leon barely managed to keep his voice at a regular volume, "You again."

Salazar smiled an absolutely evil and sadistic smile. "The sacred rite that is about to begin at this tower will bestow the girl with magnificent power. She will join us, become one of us..."

"This is no ritual. This is terrorism." Leon's vision began taking on a red tinge.

"Isn't that a popular word these days?" Salazar cocked his head, then he just grinned, as if nothing could touch him. "Not to worry, we've prepared a special ritual just for you..." as he began reaching for a lever.

Unwilling to fall for yet another trap, Leon snapped and allowed something feral that was dormant in him to quickly take his combat knife and expertly throw it at Salazar's hand, pinning it right before it could reach a lever. "Heh," Leon let out when Salazar looked at his hand in shock and began to whimper and it slowly began to escalate into a wail, when the other Verdugo swiftly took the knife out of his hand and flung it back at Leon, barely allowing him time to dodge it. But before Leon could react after his dodge, Salazar and the Verdugo were on the lift and quickly escaping. "Stop!"

------------------------

The past few hours were torture as she was led to the top of the tower and then chained down to an altar right in front of a huge parasitic monster whose mass was just pulsing with its life-force. It was too much for her to look at. Her screams did nothing to earn the pity of her captors, and so there she lay with tear-stained eyes as Salazar and his bodyguard burst into the tower apex.

"It seems your Mr. Kennedy is much more stubborn that we originally thought..." Salazar snidely spat at Ashley while he rubbed his hand as she gasped.

_'He's still alive?! Please hurry, Leon! HELP ME!'_ Ashley barely managed to speak through her parched throat and hoarse voice, "Where is he? What is going on?! What are you going to do to me?!"

"All in good time, my dear..." he said with a sweet, but poisonous tone. It set her nerves on edge. She watched him as he walked over to a duralumin case, opened it and reached inside, taking out a syringe and a vial of some kind of fluid. Ashley began to scream again. Then the Verdugo swiftly walked up to her as it grasped her hair, holding her head still as Salazar came back over to her. "Soon, you'll look back on this moment as pure foolishness when you become one of us. You should be glad we're bestowing this great honor on you."

"Let go of me! Leon! LE-!!!" and as she was screaming for her savior, Salazar stuck the needle in her neck and pushed the plunger down, injecting her with the sedative as they watched her eyes flutter and close and her body slump as it took effect. _'Leon... help... me........'_

------------------------

At that moment, Leon was making his way through the tower at an amazing pace, but deep down, he knew there was something very wrong about everything. When that twinge of intuition hit him, he began ignoring enemies, running past them or shoving them down the tower stairs or off the scaffolding as he began to race towards the tower apex.

Boarding the lift, threw off the heavy shipping containers with unknown strength to lighten the lift so it would begin to elevate, but as the lift started to go up, more zealots jumped down from above and onto the lift to slow him down. Leon would have none of it. In absolute rage, he wound up for a roundhouse kick, hitting every enemy in range and throwing them off the lift and down to their death as those who weren't hit began to take a step back, afraid of being next. They didn't have to wonder long as Leon then personally shoved one by one off the lift. It would continue that way until he reached the top and ran to the tower apex, not using any ammunition during his last stint in the tower.

Charging into the tower apex, he was greeted by Salazar and his bodyguard, both standing on top of an altar, and the writhing mass on the far wall, but no sign of Ashley.

"Ah," Salazar began, "You've just missed her. The ritual is over. She left with my men to an island."

Leon felt as if someone had just replaced his blood with poison as his body felt like it was burning yet freezing, and strangely tingling. The feeling of absolute dread and failure. _'But she isn't dead. I haven't completely lost her... But what have they done?!' _But all the could manage was, "What?" in a voice that would sound like shock, but he knew it was his fear speaking.

Salazar just grinned, but it was somehow different; it had a hint of finality to it, like he had a trump card that would finally kill him. "I think it's time I payed my due respects towards to your impressive and stubbon will." And at that, he held out his arms in a welcoming gesture as his grin became an almost inhuman smile of pure power, hatred, and revenge. "Mr. Kennedy...welcome!"

Leon watched in horror as tendrills came from the mass of flesh on the wall and enveloped Salazar and the Verdugo and pulled them into itself, while Salazar was laughing manically, and when the transformation was finished, a long alien neck and head smashed the altar, and when Leon turned around, spikes shot up from the ground blocking the path he had come in, trapping him in the room with the mutated monster.

"Monsters." Leon muttered to himself, trying to calm down his nerves about Ashley and focus on the task at hand. "I guess after this, there'll be one less to worry about."

------------------------

When all that remained was little bits of gore leftover from the fight with the joint mutation of Salazar, the Verdugo, and the brood queen, Leon ran from the room to a dock down below when he came across a familiar face, someone he didn't want to see.

Sitting in the driver's seat of a speed boat on the dock was a lady in red. "Need a ride, handsome?"

Unhappy to see Ada, but with her controlling his only way of getting to the island, Leon had no choice but to accept. Holstering his gun, he gruffly replied, "Hmph. Okay..." and he slowly got in the boat, unsure of why she was helping him, if she was helping him...


End file.
